Rest in Peace, Rob Grill

Sadly, Grass Roots’ frontman Rob Grill of that great 60s band, the Grass Roots, died on Monday, July 11th, after a month-long coma. His wife, Nancy, made the announcement. Grill suffered head injuries in a fall last month and suffered two strokes, each located in different parts of his brain.

Who can forget Rob’s sexy vocals on such Grass Roots hits as “Midnight Confessions” and “Let’s Live For Today,” two particular favorites.

Born Robert Frank Grill on November 30, 1943 in Los Angeles, he graduated from Hollywood High School and got a job at American Recording Studios with musician friends Cory Wells (Three Dog Night) and John Kay (Steppenwolf). Grill was recruited into the Grass Roots not long after hit producers P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri got their third lineup of the band together. Sloan and Barri had already made a record under this band name, but neither their original nor second lineup worked out.

When they got Creed Bratton, Rick Coonce, Warren Entner and Kenny Fukomoto together, they were almost ready to go, but Fukomoto was suddenly called away by Uncle Sam. Enter Rob. The Grass Roots charted 29 singles (13 gold) and had two gold albums and two platinum albums, selling over 20 million records worldwide.

Here are some more impressive facts about The Grass Roots:

During a 6-year period (1967-1972) The Grass Roots set a record for being on the Billboard charts 307 straight weeks.

In the entire history of Rock n’ Roll, only 9 bands (including The Beatles) have charted more hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 than The Grass Roots.

The Grass Roots appeared on over 50 national television shows including, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams, Sonny & Cher, Good Morning America, VH1 Hit-Makers, MTV, and a record 16 times On Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.