Seals and Crofts

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Seals and Crofts are Jim Seals (October 17, 1941) and Dash Crofts (August 14, 1940), a popular soft rock duo in the early 1970s, best-known for their hits "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl."

Contents

[edit] Career

Jim Seals and Dash Crofts were both born in Texas. They first met when Crofts was a drummer for a local band. Later, Seals joined a band called Dean Beard and the Crew Cuts where he played guitar; later on Crofts joined the band. With Beard, they moved to Los Angeles to join The Champs. In 1958, Seals and Crofts toured with The Champs. After the success of their number one Latin rock instrumental hit "Tequila", the pair returned to Los Angeles to work as session musicians.

In 1962, Jimmy Seals, Dash Crofts, Glen Campbell, and Jerry Cole left The Champs to form a band named "Glen Campbell and the GCs" which played at The Crossbow in Van Nuys, CA. The band only lasted a couple of years before the members went their separate ways. Crofts returned to Texas and Seals joined a band named "The Dawnbreakers" (a reference to a book by the same name). Crofts eventually returned to California to join The Dawnbreakers. However, The Dawnbreakers turned out to be unsuccessful. Crofts married fellow Dawnbreaker Billie Lee Day in 1969, and both Seals and Crofts were introduced and converted to the Bahá'í Faith.

After the failure with The Dawnbreakers, the two decided to play as a duo, with Seals on guitar, saxophone and violin, and Crofts on guitar and mandolin. They signed a contract with Talent Associates and released two LPs, which were largely ignored. The pair signed a new contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1971. Their first album with their new label was also unsuccessful, but their second album, Summer Breeze charted at #7 in 1972.

After a long and successful run of recordings in the 1970s, the two lost their contract with Warner Brothers and set aside music for a while. They held a short reunion tour in 1991-1992 and appeared at several Bahá'í gatherings. Crofts lived in Mexico, Australia and then Nashville, playing country music and making occasional hit singles. Seals moved to Costa Rica and has lived on a coffee farm since 1980.

In 2003, Seals and Crofts reunited and recorded a new album for the first time in more than twenty years. Most recently, they held a tour in 2004-2005.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Seals & Crofts, 1969
  • Down Home, 1970
  • Year of Sunday, 1972
  • Summer Breeze, 1972, charted at #7
  • Diamond Girl, 1973
  • "I And II", 1974
  • Unborn Child, 1974
  • I'll Play For You, 1975, #18
  • Greatest Hits, 1975
  • Get Closer, 1976, #37
  • Sudan Village, 1976 (live), #73
  • One On One (soundtrack), 1977
  • Takin' It Easy, 1978, #78
  • "Collection", 1979
  • The Longest Road, 1980 (Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke appeared on track one, "Stars").
  • Lote Tree, 1980
  • Today, 1998
  • Traces, 2003

[edit] Singles

  • "Summer Breeze", 1972, charted at #6 Pop / #4 AC
  • "Hummingbird", 1972, #20 Pop / #12 AC
  • "Diamond Girl", 1973, #6 Pop / #4 AC
  • "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)", 1973, #21 Pop / #2 AC
  • "Unborn Child", 1974, #66 Pop
  • "King Of Nothing", 1974, #60 Pop / #26 AC
  • "I'll Play For You", 1975, #18 Pop / #4 AC
  • "Castles In The Sand", 1975, #21 AC
  • "Baby, I'll Give It To You", 1976, #58 Pop / #14 AC
  • "Get Closer" (featuring Carolyn Willis of Honey Cone), 1976, #6 Pop / #2 AC
  • "Goodbye Old Buddies", 1977, #10 AC
  • "My Fair Share", 1977, #28 Pop / #11 AC
  • "You're the Love", 1978, #18 Pop / #2 AC
  • "Takin' It Easy", 1978, #79 Pop
  • "First Love", 1980, #37 AC

[edit] See also

[edit] References

George-Warren, H (ed.) 2001, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, 3rd edn, Fireside, New York.

[edit] External link

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