[citation needed] Gates knew Leon Russell and both played in bar bands around the Tulsa area.

Royer then introduced Gates to his songwriting partner, Griffin, and the trio joined in 1968 and signed with Elektra Records in January 1969.

Of course, for the entire first year people called us the Breads.The group's first single, "Dismal Day", was released in June 1969 but did not chart.

Session musicians Jim Gordon and Ron Edgar accompanied the band on drums for the album.

On July 25, 1969, Bread appeared in concert for the first time, with Gordon on drums, at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, opening for the Flying Burrito Brothers.

When Gordon's schedule conflicted and he proved unavailable for future outings, they brought in Mike Botts as their permanent drummer.

For their next single, Bread released a re-recorded version of "It Don't Matter To Me", a Gates song from their first album.

He was replaced by Larry Knechtel, a leading Los Angeles session musician who played piano and harpsichord on The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album and on Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" single in 1970.

By 1973, fatigue from constant recording and touring had set in despite the band's success, and personal relationships began to show strain, especially between Gates and Griffin.

Gates, Griffin, Botts and Knechtel returned to the studio that year and recorded Lost Without Your Love, released in January 1977.

He then continued to tour with Botts and Knechtel as "David Gates & Bread", making TV appearances, including a guest shot on The Hardy Boys Mysteries which aired in November 1978.

As with Griffin, he eventually kicked his drug problems and his success was mostly in writing for artists in the country music field in the 1980s and 1990s.

In September 1994, after being out of the spotlight for thirteen years, Gates released a new solo album, Love Is Always Seventeen.

In 1990, Griffin founded the country music supergroup Black Tie with Billy Swan and former Eagles member Randy Meisner.

After this entity broke up, he recorded two albums as a member of another country music group, The Remingtons.

[8] In 1996, having settled their differences, the original members Gates, Griffin, Botts and Knechtel reunited Bread for a final and successful "25th Anniversary" tour of the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland, and Asia.

This time out, the group was accompanied by Randy Flowers (guitars), Scott Chambers (bass) and a string section to help them capture the sound of the records.

Royer continues to be involved in music, initially working out of his Nashfilms studio in Tennessee before relocating to the Virgin Islands in 2013.