Bruce & Terry

Bruce & Terry were Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher. The pair were instrumental in the development of surf rock, recording under a variety of names and created the band The Rip Chords.

They began working together while Johnston was a well-known session musician and Melcher, the son of actress/singer Doris Day and producer of The Byrds recordings, had a minor solo career as Terry Day before becoming the youngest staff record producer in Columbia Records' history. Together, they began recording as Terry recorded and also helped produce the 1963 album "Surfin' Round the World".

Producing a 'surf-frat' band called The Rip Chords, whose "Here I Stand" had reached #51 in early 1963, they ended up taking over most of the vocal parts on that band's Beach Boys soundalike hit "Hey Little Cobra" in 1964 (along with Rip Chords band members, Phil Stewart, Rich Rotkin, Arnie Marcus and Ernie Bringas). The song was the first in a series of hit singles (most of which were released under the name Bruce & Terry), reaching #4 on the U.S. pop charts.

Johnston later joined The Beach Boys, whilst Melcher became a full time producer. On November 19, 2004, Melcher died at his home after a long battle with melanoma. He was 62 years old.