- Soft rock band formed in 1969 in Los Angeles, CA. The duo were Jim Seals (vocals, guitar, sax, fiddle) and Darrell “Dash” Crofts (vocals, drums, mandolin, keyboards).
- They met in their home state of Texas. Both were local musicians, and they became bandmates when they joined Dan Beard and the Crew Cats. With Beard, they moved to California in 1959 to join The Champs (already famous for the #1 hit Tequila).
- In 1963, they left The Champs (along with fellow bandmember Glen Campbell) to form Glen Campbell and the GCs. After several years, they split up. Seals then joined a band called The Dawnbreakers, and Crofts joined some time later.
- After the Dawnbreakers, they decided in 1969 to form their own duo, where they could feature the songs that they wrote together, and could highlight their vocal skills, particularly their harmonies. Their songs were mellow, easy listening stories.
- Their first 3 albums did not sell well. But, their breakthrough album was their fourth, Summer Breeze, released in 1972. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100 chart, and sold over 1 million copies. The singles Summer Breeze and Hummingbird hit #6 and #20 respectively. This album had a huge influence on my developing love of music. I can say that Hummingbird was my first “favorite song” ever.
- The follow-up album, Diamond Girl, was their highest charting album, reaching #4.
- By 1980, they lost their recording contract, and they decided to concentrate on their religious faith, the Baha’i faith. They reunited briefly in the early 90s, and in 2004, they released their final album, Traces, which were remakes of several of their previous songs, plus some new pieces.
- They released 11 studio albums, 1 live album, and their Greatest Hits album sold over 1 million copies.
- Seals moved to Costa Rica, where he lived on a coffee farm. He moved back to Nashville, and suffered a stroke in 2017 that ended his public life. He passed away in 2022. Crofts moved back to Texas where he operates a horse ranch.
- Seals’ brother, Dan Seals, was popular as a solo country artist, and was “England Dan” of the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. Dan Seals died in 2009 of lymphoma.
- When I am in an “easy listening” mood, I still frequently listen to Seals & Crofts music. Love their harmonies and singing. Their songs will never be classic to the masses, but they are classic to me. Here’s a song that shows that harmonization, Diamond Girl.