The Four Preps were a popular quartet, whose greatest popularity was in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
They originally consisted of Bruce Belland (born October 26, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois), Ed Cobb, Marv Ingraham, and Glen Larson (born 1937). They were students at Hollywood High School and were signed to a long term contract by Capitol Records after one of Capitol's executives saw them at a talent show at that school in 1956. They had a minor chart hit that year with "Dreamy Eyes" and between 1956 and 1964 reached the top 100 charts with 13 different songs. Their biggest was "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)" which was written by Belland and Larson and reached #2. Those two members of the group also wrote "Big Man" (which reached #3) and "Down by the Station," another lesser hit for the group.
In 1959 the group played themselves in a movie, "Gidget."
In 1966, David Somerville, formerly of The Diamonds , joined the group (some sources say he replaced Larson, others that he replaced Cobb). In 1967 the group disbanded, as their type of music became less highly demanded, though they had one last chart hit, "A Letter to the Beatles," just before breaking up. Belland and Somerville continued occasionally to perform as a duo after the breakup.
Belland continued writing songs which were recorded by other singers, as well as writing television show scripts, eventually becoming a network executive.
Cobb became a record producer and sound engineer.
Somerville went into TV acting and doing voice-overs.
Larson became a TV writer and producer.
In the 1980s, Belland, Cobb, Somerville, and Jim Pike (formerly of The Lettermen) eventually re-formed a new "Four Preps" group, and went on to perform. Jim Yester (formerly of The Association) replaced Pike in 1993, and the group became the "New Four Preps."
In 1999 Cobb died of leukemia in Honolulu, Hawaii. Yester, Belland, and Somerville continued performing as a trio, using their last names, doing songs that were associated with The Four Preps, The Diamonds, and The Association.
Belland's daughter Melissa Brooke Belland (born May 17, 1962) followed in her father's footsteps as a singer, forming a group named Voice of the Beehive .
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