Seals & Crofts

Progenitors of what’s now called “yacht rock,” the soft-rock duo Seals & Crofts mainstays of ’70s radio thanks to laid-back hit singles like 1972’s “Summer Breeze.” • Texas natives Jim Seals and Dash Crofts started out playing together in the band Dean Beard and the Crew Cats. In the late ’50s, Seals, Crofts, and Beard moved to LA to play in The Champs, who’d recently scored a massive hit—recorded by studio musicians—with “Tequila.” • After leaving The Champs, Seals and Crofts played together in The Dawnbreakers before forming a duo. Both were adherents of the Baháʼí Faith, a religious movement dating back to the 19th century. • Their breakthrough came with their fourth album, 1972’s Summer Breeze. The title track became a No. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. • Each of the band’s next four albums—through 1976’s Get Closer—went gold. Along the way, they notched two more No. 6 hits, “Diamond Girl” and “Get Closer.” • Despite their relaxed style, Seals & Crofts weren’t strangers to controversy. Their 1975 single “Unborn Child,” an anti-abortion song, led to demonstrations by pro-choice advocates at their concerts and a boycott of their album. • Seals & Crofts were dropped by Warner Bros. in 1980 after declining sales, and the duo went on hiatus, focusing on their faith in the Baha'i religion. They briefly reunited for a tour in the early 1990s, and again in 2004 to release their final album, Traces.