Brooks..Gloria...Trish..David's Backing Singers

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Not an easy blog to write, because we don't have enough info.

Brooks Hunnicutt was with DC at those first ever 2 concerts, and probably during the first concert season. In 1971 David played 35 gigs in the US. On  May 16th, 1971, Jack Wiley wrote on Dayton Daily News : 'The 14 piece back-up group, complete with 3 vocalists who filled in for 45 minutes the first half of the show, was adequate. Kim Carnes and David Ellingson, both from LA, did a duet in 4 songs. Than tall, slender Brooks Hunnicutt, an Atlanta girl, with hair down to her waist, gave the kinds a lot of soul sounds'

In 1971 she even had an own column, 'Let's Tour with David'

 https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Mag1971Aug_TigerBeatOfficialPartridgeFamilyMagazine_30.pdf

 http://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Mag1971Nov_TigerBeatOfficialPFMag_14.pdf

Brooks Hunnicutt is a quite known session singer, recorded and toured with great musicians - Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills, Helen Reddy..but it seems that performing with David wasn't important..He is not mentioned in any of her biograms..There are some musicians who started their career performing or recording with DC in the 70s, but they've had forgotten about it..I've found that video with Brooks singing..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItAVJQ8Tlo

Gloria Grinel..She was a known session singer in LA, recorded with Bill House and Bruce Johnston. And in the early 70s there was a band called Kindred, with a drummer Ron Grinel and a blond girl called Gloria..Giano(the pic on the right) Whatever, that everything I've managed to find. Gloria is credited on the 3 DC's albums ; 'Cassidy Live!' ( she was with David on the World Tour), 'The Higher They Climb The Harder They Fall' and 'Home Where The Heart Is'. And on that last album she sang with David. He wrote about her in the liner notes :

'Bill (House, co-writer) was originally going to sing (..) but neither of us could cut the high part like Gloria could, bless her soul,  and I do mean soul - besides we sung on the road together during the final extravaganza for about 4 months, so we sing real good together'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F__G0U8GmrM

I've been trying to find more about her,  she disappeared after 1976..At last I've found that someone on the Beach Boys forum (a great source of info) has written that she died young of drug overdose.

You can see Gloria's pic here..

http://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Mag1974Feb18_NZWomensWeekly_Page38.pdf

and Trish Turner. As a teen she sang on a Duke Ellington album, appeared on the same DC's albums as Gloria did. Probably this is the same singer who had her own group, and  in 2007 recorded an album called 'Bourbon Rain'

But for us Gloria and Trish will be forever, in our memory, young, glamorous and sexy, and very pro David's backing girls, fantastic singers  who helped DC recorded such great tracks like that one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNGVKrFL2fg

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