The Four Preps
The Four Preps was an American singing group that entered the US charts with a total of twelve of their singles from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s .
Band history
The quartet attended high school in Hollywood , California and sang in the school choir there. Soon the singers appeared regularly at dance events etc. In 1956, a friend secretly made a sound recording at such an event and sent it to a record company without the others knowing anything about it . Then the band got a contract.
In the same year, the first single Dream Eyes was released, which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to number 56. The final breakthrough came over a year later when the single 26 Miles (Santa Catalina) climbed high top 10 positions in the US singles charts and the R&B charts. With Big Man , the band's most successful single followed in 1958, which not only climbed into the Top 10 in the Hot 100 and the R&B charts, but also moved up to number 2 on the hit list in the United Kingdom .
By 1964, nine more singles were placed in the US charts, of which Lazy Summer Night (1958), Down by the Station (1960) and Calcutta (1961) reached the top.
Bruce Belland later formed a vocal duo with Dave Somerville, who was previously with The Diamonds . Glen A. Larson became a well-known writer, film producer, and composer. Belland is the father of Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland, who formed the band Voice of the Beehive in the late 1980s . David Somerville died of prostate cancer in 2015 .
occupation
Founding members
- Bruce G. Belland - lead vocals
- Glen Albert Larson († November 14, 2014) - bass
- Ed Cobb (actually Edward C. Cobb; † September 19, 1999) - baritone
- Marv Ingram (actually Marvin Inabnett; † March 7, 1999) - tenor
Later members
- David Somerville (born October 2, 1933 in Guelph , Ontario , Canada - † July 14, 2015 in Santa Barbara , California ) - vocals
Discography
Albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1961 | The Four Preps on Campus Capitol 1566 |
- |
US8 (26 weeks) US |
- |
Live, first published: 1961
Producer: Voyle Gilmore |
| 1962 | Campus Encore Capitol 1647 |
- |
US40 (17 weeks) US |
- |
Live, first published: 1962
Producer: Voyle Gilmore |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
more publishments
- 1958: The Four Preps (Capitol 994)
- 1958: The Things We Did Last Summer (Capitol 1090)
- 1959: Dancing and Dreaming (Capitol 1216)
- 1960: Down by the Station / Early in the Morning (Capitol 1291)
- 1960: The Four Preps on Campus (different track list than the album of the same name from 1961; Capitol 1291)
- 1963: Campus Confidential (Capitol 1814)
- 1963: Songs for a Campus Party (Capitol 1976)
- 1964: How to Succeed in Love (Capitol 2169)
Compilations
- 1965: The Best of the Four Preps
- 1989: The Capitol Collector's Series
- 1990: stop! infant
- 1997: Back 2 Back Hits ( split album with The Lettermen )
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1956 | Dreamy Eyes The Four Preps |
- |
US56 (12 weeks) US |
- |
First published: October 29, 1956
Authors: Bebe Blake, Jack Hoffman Original: The Youngsters, 1956 |
| 1958 | 26 Miles (Santa Catalina) The Four Preps on Campus (1960) |
- |
US4 (20 weeks) US |
R&B6 (8 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 2, 1957
Authors: Glen A. Larson , Bruce Belland |
| Big Man The Four Preps on Campus (1960) |
UK2 (14 weeks) UK |
US5 (14 weeks) US |
R&B9 (9 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 14, 1958
Authors: Glen A. Larson, Bruce Belland |
|
| Lazy Summer Night The Four Preps on Campus (1960) |
- |
US21 (10 weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 28, 1958
Author: Harold Spina |
|
| Cinderella The Four Preps on Campus (1960) |
- |
US69 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: October 1958
Authors: Glen A. Larson, Bruce Belland |
|
| 1959 | I ain't never down by the station |
- |
US79 (2 weeks) US |
- | |
| Down by the station Down by the station |
- |
US13 (15 weeks) US |
- |
First published: November 1959
Authors: Glen A. Larson, Bruce Belland |
|
| 1960 | Got a Girl The Four Preps on Campus (1961) |
UK28 (7 weeks) UK |
US24 (10 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 1960
Authors: Glen A. Larson, Bruce Belland |
| 1961 |
Calcutta |
- |
US96 (2 weeks) US |
- | |
| More Money for You and Me (Medley) The Four Preps on Campus (1961) |
UK39 (2 weeks) UK |
US17 (11 weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 17, 1961
Arranger: Lincoln Mayorga |
|
| 1962 | The Big Draft (Medley) Campus Encore |
- |
US61 (6 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 1962
Arranger: Lincoln Mayorga |
| 1964 | A letter to the Beatles |
- |
US85 (3 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 9, 1964
Authors: Glen A. Larson, Bruce Belland, Ivan Ulz |
More singles
- 1957: Moonstruck in Madrid (release: January)
- 1957: Falling Star (release: April)
- 1957: Promise Me Baby (release: July)
- 1957: I Cried a Million Tears (release: July)
- 1957: Band of Angels (with Lou Busch and His Orchestra; release: August)
- 1959: She Was Five and He Was Ten (released January)
- 1959: Big Surprise (release: May)
- 1960: Sentimental Kid (released June)
- 1960: Kaw-Liga (release: August)
- 1960: I've A'ready Started In (release: November)
- 1961: White Silver Sands
- 1961: Dream Boy, Dream (released May)
- 1961: Once Around the Block (release: November 13th)
- 1962: Good Night Sweetheart (released June)
- 1963: Charmaine (released May 13)
- 1963: Oh Where, Oh Where (released August 12)
- 1963: I'm Falling in Love with a Girl (I Shouldn't Fall in Love With) (released November 4th)
- 1964: My Love, My Love
- 1964: I've Known You All My Life (released May 4th)
- 1964: The Girl Without a Top (release: August 3rd)
- 1965: I'll Set My Love to Music (released January)
- 1965: I'll Never Be the Same (released June)
- 1966: Something to Remember You By (released March)
- 1966: Let's Call It a Day Girl (release: July)
- 1967: Love of the Common People (released January)
- 1967: Draftdodger Rag (release: May 27th)
literature
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 210-212.
swell
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles UK US
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4
Web links
- The Four Preps at Allmusic (English)
- The Four Preps at Discogs (English)