The Four Preps

Original line-up

History

The four original members were students at Hollywood High School and were signed to a recording 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 Billboard pop charts with 13 different songs. In 1957 they appeared with Lindsay Crosby in the television special The Edsel Show.

Their biggest hit was "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)," which was written by Belland and Larson in 1957 and reached #2 early the following year. The record sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. Around this time, Ricky Nelson appeared with them at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky".

Belland and Larson also wrote "Big Man", which reached #3 in 1958, and composed new lyrics for the older tune "Down by the Station", which peaked at #13 in 1960. Cobb wrote a handful of songs for the group, though not any of their chart hits; Cobb later became a noted writer and/or producer of hit material for other artists, especially The Standells' "Dirty Water", Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts" and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love". Many Four Preps records were arranged by their high school friend and piano accompanist Lincoln Mayorga.

In 1959, the group appeared as themselves in the film Gidget. For a short period, Don Clarke replaced Ingram while the latter finished college at UCLA, but he rejoined the group in 1960.

In 1960 they also recorded a parody single, "More Money for You and Me," which included single parody verses of several popular songs by The Fleetwoods, The Hollywood Argyles, The Platters, The Four Freshmen, The Kingston Trio and Dion and the Belmonts. The title parody, sung to the tune of "Tom Dooley," went like this:

The group last appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1964, when "A Letter to The Beatles" charted for a total of three weeks beginning March 21, peaking at #85. In 1966, David Somerville, formerly of The Diamonds, joined the group, replacing Ingram. In 1969, the group disbanded, as their type of music had become less popular. Belland and Somerville occasionally performed as a duo after the breakup.

Later careers

Belland continued writing songs for other singers, as well as writing television show scripts, eventually becoming a network executive. Belland was a producer on several game shows in the 1970s for Ralph Edwards Productions. Cobb became a record producer and sound engineer. He composed and produced the top-twenty hit, "Dirty Water" for The Standells in 1966 with Cobb; "Every Little Bit Hurts " for Brenda Holloway; "Tainted Love" for Gloria Jones, which became a worldwide hit for Soft Cell in 1982. Somerville went into television acting and providing voice-overs. Larson became a television producer, creating Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. Ingram became a commodities broker. Clarke became a music teacher at Glendora High School. Don Clarke was a music director at Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, California from 1965 to 1967.

In the 1980s, Belland, Cobb, Somerville, and Jim Pike (formerly of the Lettermen) eventually 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; and Ingram died of a heart attack.

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. Somerville died on July 14, 2015.

Belland's daughters, Tracey Bryn Belland and Melissa Brooke Belland, followed in their father's footsteps as singers, forming a group named Voice of the Beehive.