Born in Guelph, Ontario, Somerville grew up in a musical family in the nearby farming village of Rockwood, 50 miles west of Toronto.
In the hallway of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the fall of 1953, Somerville met by chance an unnamed quartet (Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt and Bill Reed) and soon became their vocal coach.
After leaving the Diamonds, Somerville married Judy Corns of Evansville, Indiana, and began a six-year solo career as a folk artist, using the stage name David Troy.
During this period, Somerville also studied acting, with Leonard Nimoy as his teacher, and made numerous guest-starring appearances, often credited as "David Troy", on various television programs.
As songwriters, Bruce and Dave co-wrote "The Troublemaker," which became the title track of two Willie Nelson albums; and the duo sang in a later roster of the Four Preps with Jim Pike of The Lettermen.
In it, he told road stories and sang the songs of such pioneer jukebox giants as Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry.