David Gates (born December 11, 1940) is a singer and songwriter, best known as the front man of the group, Bread (formed in 1967). Gates was born in Oklahoma, dropped out of college and married young, and set off for California to begin a career in music. Success came early, but it was with Bread that he gained a wide following and a string of hits including:

  • Make it with You (1970)
  • If (1971)
  • Everything I Own (1972)
  • Lost without your Love (1976)

After Bread split up, he composed the theme song for the Oscar-winning film, Goodbye Girl.

Gates' distinctive singing voice and boy-next-door good looks helped ensure his popularity. However, many of his songs have been successfully covered by other artists, including If (a huge hit for Telly Savalas) and Everything I Own (covered by, among others, Boy George).

Having spent several years out of music altogether, Gates returned to the spotlight in the 1990s, and is still writing and performing. His album, The David Gates Songbook, released in 2002, features several new songs.


David Gates (born January 8, 1947) is also an American journalist and novelist [1]. His most popular novel so far has been Jernigan (1991) about a dysfunctional one-parent family.