Robert Wilson "Robb" Royer (born December 6, 1942 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Bread from 1968 to 1971. While he was with the band, they had a #5 UK/#1 US hit single with "Make It With You". He was replaced by Larry Knechtel in 1971.
Bread
Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin co-founded Bread with David Gates in 1968. Maria Yolanda Aguayo once again contributed to the band's history when she revealed a trend she noticed as (Record Producer) Gary Usher's desk girl at CBS Records - band managers generally waited in the lobby but attorneys generally had immediate access to the executives at CBS. The trio quickly hired Al Schlesinger to represent them and he pitched their group to three labels in their search of a recording contract: Elektra Records, The Beatles' Apple Records and Atlantic Records, but Apple did not have clear leadership and was quickly eliminated from the process while Atlantic had recently signed two supergroups - Crosby Stills & Nash and Led Zeppelin - and they were based on the East Coast. Elektra was the label for The Doors, but were becoming embroiled in Jim Morrison's legal battles. When both Atlantic and Elektra offered recording deals to Bread, the group chose the Elektra deal because they had a local headquarters in L.A. and the group felt Elektra would more actively promote them, given Atlantic's other recent signings.  The first album made use of Jimmy Gordon's drumming and Gordon also performed drums with the group during their initial gigs, but due to Gordon's high demand among multiple recording artists and his participation with the artists that eventually became Derek and the Dominos, he was replaced with Mike Botts as the group's regular drummer, thus expanding the band to a quartet.  After three years, Robb Royer and David Gates came to a breaking point because Gates wanted more control of the group, so Royer left the group in 1971 after its third album Manna and was replaced with famous session keyboardist/bassist/guitarist Larry Knechtel, who had previously contributed the piano performance on Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Royer continued to write with Griffin and Bread continued to record Royer/Griffin collaborations.
When did he join bread
Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin co-founded Bread with David Gates in 1968.
Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin co-founded Bread with David Gates in 1968.