The 4 Preps originally consisted of Bruce Belland , Ed Cobb, Marv
Ingram, and Glen Larson , who later become one of the most prolific
creators and producers in the history of American television. The four
were students at Hollywood High School and were signed to a long term
contract by Capitol Records after one of Capitol's executives saw them
at a talent show at that school in 1956. They had a minor chart hit that
year with "Dreamy Eyes" and between 1956 and 1964 reached the
top 100 charts with 13 different songs. The following year they appeared
with Lindsay Crosby on the top-rated television special, The Edsel Show.
Their biggest hit was "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)," which was
written by Belland and Larson and reached #2. Those two members of the
group also wrote "Big Man" (which reached #3) and "Down
by the Station." In 1959, the group appeared as themselves in the
movie Gidget. In 1966, David Somerville, formerly of The Diamonds,
joined the group replacing Cobb. In 1969, the group disbanded, as their
type of music became less popular.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of
research and comment and does not significantly negatively affect "the
potential market for or value of the copyrighted work(s)."