Return to Rock-and-Roll Page.The American Breed was a local Chicago act that had several minor hits and one big one in the 60's.
The group was formed in the Chicago suburb of Cicero in 1966. Under the name of Gary & the Nite Lites, it consisted of Gary Loizzo on vocals and guitar, Chuck Colbert on bass, Al Ciner on guitar and Lee Graziano on drums. All of them had been born in the Chicago area.
Gary & the Nite Lites were popular in the Chicago area and managed to record one single, which had little success. The interracial group went through some changes, changing its name to the American Breed and its label to Acta. They put five records on the charts in 1967 and 1968, including Step Out Of Your Mind and Green Light. The group's biggest hit, Bend Me, Shape Me, reached number five early in 1968. By that time they had added Kevin Murphy on keyboards and Andre Fischer on drums. Fischer went on to form the group Rufus with Chaka Khan, and later married singer Natalie Cole.
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