Song:Lost Without Your Love
Album:The Best of Bread
There has always been a market for mushy love songs. And Bread had a total of nine top ten hits in the 70s. Lost Without Your Love was the last of those hits in 1977. Lead singer and songwriter David Gates was already a successful Los Angeles session musician in the late 60s. He wrote the 1964 top five hit Popsicles and Icicles for The Murmaids and arranged the Glenn Yarbrough hit Baby, The Rain Must Fall. But he wanted to establish a recording career. He released a few unsuccessful singles. Guitarist James Griffin released an unsuccessful solo album in 1963 and then became a staff songwriter for Viva Publishing. He met bassist Robb Royer and brought him into his publishing deal. Royer was a member of The Pleaure Fair. They recorded an album in 1967 for UNI Records produced by David Gates. Royer introduced Griffin to Gates and Bread was formed and signed with Elektra Records. Their 1969 debut album didn't sell. They recorded it as a trio with session drummer Jim Gordon. For their second album On The Waters, session drummer Mike Botts became a permanent member of Bread. Make it With You Was Bread's only number one pop hit in 1970. They also had a top ten hit with It Don't Matter To Me. Their third album Manna didn't do as well. and Royer left and was replaced by session musician Larry Knechtel. After the top ten hits If, Baby I'm a Want You and Everything I Own, Bread split up in 1973. Griffin was upset that all of Bread's hits were written by Gates and they were clashing over song selection for the next album. Both guys recorded unsuccessful solo albums. Elektra convinced them to reunite in 1976 and Lost Without Your Love reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977. They toured but Gates and Griffin weren't getting along. And after Gates did the second leg of the tour without Griffin, Bread split up for good. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. David Gates had some solo success with the theme of the 1979 film The Goodbye Girl. He attempted to tour as Bread but Griffin sued. That was settled in 1984. Griffin recorded solo and with Terry Sylvester of The Hollies and with the group Black Tie with Randy Meissner and Billy Swan, all with mixed success. His band The Remingtons had a top ten country hit in 1992 with A Long Time Ago. Bread reunited for a 25th anniversary tour in 1996. Griffin and Botts died in 2005 and Knechtel died in 2009. Gates is retired and Royer is still a Nashville songwriter. Here's Bread performing Lost Without Your Love on The Captain & Tennille Show 1977.
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