The Pop/Rock Song With The Shortest Title

I didn’t even have to Google it!

Arthur Keith
The Riff

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Bread in 1972, with lead singer David Gates at right. Elektra Records distributed the press photo, which is on Wikicommons.

Sometimes, you just know you’re right.

The idea for this story came to me in an ADHD moment. I didn’t feel like finishing anything I’d been working on, so I thought of something else to distract myself. It might help me get into the flow, even if it was short.

Then this came to me: “What pop/rock song has the shortest title?”

Well, of course, it’s “If” by Bread.* The song reached number four on the Billboard charts in 1971.

Bread was a successful soft rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1969. Their first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 was “Make It With You” in July 1970. It sailed to the number one spot but only stayed there for one week.

The band of four recorded on the Elektra label and was led by David Gates. Gates was born and spent his formative years attending Will Rogers High School in Tulsa.

Because Oklahoma.

Gates formed a band in high school with singer/songwriter Leon Russell, who also attended Will Rogers and played the piano.

(I attended Will Rogers, too — Will Rogers Elementary School in Ventura, California. No musicians that I know of came out of that school.)

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Arthur Keith
The Riff

My goal is to inform, educate, & entertain. Top writer in LGBTQ, Music, Climate Change. Directionally dyslexic with an excellent sense of direction.