Time: 27:05
Size: 62.0 MB
Styles: Harmony vocal group
Year: 2007
Art: Front
[2:30] 1. 26 Miles (Santa Catalina)
[2:08] 2. It's You
[1:46] 3. Again 'n Again 'n Again
[2:25] 4. I Cried A Million Tears
[2:14] 5. How About That
[2:31] 6. Moonstruck In Madrid
[2:14] 7. Dreamy Eyes
[2:37] 8. Falling Star
[2:16] 9. Humble Pie
[1:52] 10. Promise Me Baby
[2:25] 11. Fools Will Be Fools
[2:02] 12. Too Young For Love
The clean-cut West Coast-based Four Preps are best remembered for a string of Top 100 hits during the late '50s and early '60s, including "Twenty Six Miles (Santa Catalina)," "Big Man," "Down by the Station," "Lazy Summer Night," "Got a Girl," "It Ain't Never," "Moon River," "Lollipops and Roses," "My Special Angel," and others. Ultimately, the Four Preps' biggest influence can be heard via their impact on Brian Wilson, whose harmony-driven production for the Beach Boys was a direct antecedent of the Four Preps' sound.
The original group -- Bruce Belland, Ed Cobb, Marv Ingraham, and Glen Larson -- were discovered by Capitol Records A&R exec Nik Venet while performing at a Hollywood High School talent show in 1956 and were signed shortly afterwards to a long-term contract. By the end of the year, the wholesome milk-fed group charted their first single, "Dreamy Eyes." Before long, there were changes to the lineup, with former Diamonds' original lead vocalist David Somerville joining the group as a replacement for the departing Larson. For eight years, between 1956-1964, the Four Preps charted on the Top 100 13 times, but by the mid-'60s, they were beginning to sound a bit outdated. Their last chart hit "A Letter to the Beatles" was a desperate attempt to stay hip, but the days of button-up sweaters, crew cuts, and four-part vocal harmonies were waning, and they knew it. The Four Preps continued to record until 1967.
Today, there's a new group of Preps on the oldies scene -- appropriately enough, they're called the New Four Preps -- whose performing lineup includes Belland, Cobb, Somerville (a.k.a. "the three tenors of Pop"), and Jim Yester of the Association; together they represent accumulated record sales in excess of 100 million, including 29 hit singles, 15 gold albums, and 13 Grammies. ~bio by Bryan Thomas
The original group -- Bruce Belland, Ed Cobb, Marv Ingraham, and Glen Larson -- were discovered by Capitol Records A&R exec Nik Venet while performing at a Hollywood High School talent show in 1956 and were signed shortly afterwards to a long-term contract. By the end of the year, the wholesome milk-fed group charted their first single, "Dreamy Eyes." Before long, there were changes to the lineup, with former Diamonds' original lead vocalist David Somerville joining the group as a replacement for the departing Larson. For eight years, between 1956-1964, the Four Preps charted on the Top 100 13 times, but by the mid-'60s, they were beginning to sound a bit outdated. Their last chart hit "A Letter to the Beatles" was a desperate attempt to stay hip, but the days of button-up sweaters, crew cuts, and four-part vocal harmonies were waning, and they knew it. The Four Preps continued to record until 1967.
Today, there's a new group of Preps on the oldies scene -- appropriately enough, they're called the New Four Preps -- whose performing lineup includes Belland, Cobb, Somerville (a.k.a. "the three tenors of Pop"), and Jim Yester of the Association; together they represent accumulated record sales in excess of 100 million, including 29 hit singles, 15 gold albums, and 13 Grammies. ~bio by Bryan Thomas
The Four Preps
