1 The American Breed
YouTube Videos Musicales

The American Breed were a '60s rock quartet from the Chicago area, led 
by Gary Loizzo. The group was formed in 1966 in Cicero, Illinois as Gary 
& The Nite Lites. Their greatest success was the single, "Bend Me, 
Shape Me," which reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 
1968. The song, written by Scott English and Larry Weiss, was a remake 
of a recording by The Outsiders that had been released the year 
before. 

The group also appeared on the December 16, 1967 episode of the 
television show American Bandstand, along with Pink Floyd.

The original members of the group were...
* Gary Loizzo on vocals, 
* Charles Colbert, Jr. on bass guitar, 
* Al Ciner on guitar, 
* Lee Graziano on drums. 

As Gary & The Nite Lites, they were somewhat successful appearing live 
in the Chicagoland area. 

After undergoing several personnel changes they renamed themselves The 
American Breed. Two new members were also added by 1968: 

* Kevin Murphy on keyboards,
* Andre Fischer on drums.

The band enjoyed its greatest success in 1967 and 1968 during which 
time hey released 5 singles that reached the charts, including "Step 
Out Of Your Mind," "Green Light" and "Bend Me, Shape Me." The group 
went through several more name and personnel changes, but with Ciner 
and Murphy remaining as core members through the changes. 

First was shortening the name to The Breed, then re-naming the band 
Smoke, before evolving to a R&B funk sound as Ask Rufus'. They 
added...

* Paulette McWilliams on vocals...
* who was later replaced by Chaka Khan.

The last name change to Rufus, (former American Breed drummer Andre 
Fisher returned as Rufus's drummer during this period), and the band 
later scored their first Top 10 hit under the Rufus name with "Tell Me 
Something Good" in 1974. 

Fischer later married Natalie Cole. A compilation album, Bend Me, 
Shape Me: The Best of the American Breed, was released in 1994. 

"Bend Me, Shape Me" continues to receive occasional airplay on oldies 
radio stations.

In celebration of the 2005 baseball World Championship of the Chicago 
White Sox, the American Breed issued a CD single entitled "Rock with 
the Sox." The single was produced by Gary Loizzo.

Best known lineup:
Gary Loizzo - vocals, guitar (born August 16 1945, Chicago) 
Al Ciner - guitar (born May 14 1947, Chicago) 
Kevin Murphy - keyboards (born 1947, Chicago) 
Charles Colbert - bass (born August 30 1944, Chicago) 
Lee Graziano - drums (born November 9 1943, Chicago) 

Discography:
* 1967 The American Breed 
* 1968 Bend Me, Shape Me 
* 1968 Pumpkin, Powder, Scarlet & Green 
* 1968 Lonely Side of the City