Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1970. Ambrosia had five Top 40 hit singles released between 1975 and 1980, including the Top 5 hits "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me", and Top 20 hits "You're the Only Woman (You & I)" and "Holdin' on to Yesterday". Most of the original band members have been active with the group continuously since their 1989 reformation to the present day, with the notable exceptions of original guitarist and lead vocalist David Pack (who left in 2000) and original keyboardist Christopher North (who died in 2026).
Ambrosia currently tours internationally and has worked in the past and present with Alan Parsons, Bruce Hornsby, Bill Champlin, Michael McDonald and Peter Beckett, among other notable artists.
Formation
The group was founded as a quartet with guitarist/vocalist David Pack, bassist/vocalist Joe Puerta, keyboardist Christopher North and drummer Burleigh Drummond. According to Joe Puerta, their original name was "Ambergris Mite," but after doing some touring they discovered there was already a band using the name "Ambergris," so they turned to the dictionary and picked the name "Ambrosia" because a name meaning "nectar of the gods" seemed fitting. While Ambrosia had several radio hits in the 1970s, much of the material on their five albums is progressive in nature.
The founding constituents of Ambrosia were reared in Southern California's South Bay, later adopting San Pedro as their hometown. Their initial musical influences, like many of their generation, came from the Beach Boys, Jimmy Reed, King Crimson and the Beatles. Ambrosia fused symphonic art rock with a slickly produced pop sound, resulting in a "melodic prog" style.
Early on, the band was infatuated with Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and began to experiment with vocal harmonies.
Rise to fame
Ambrosia auditioned for Herb Alpert and A&M Records early in their history, but were signed by 20th Century Fox Records in 1975, who released two albums by the group.
In August 1978 Life Beyond L.A. was released. It marked a move away from their lush arrangements and introduced a more raw, aggressive jazz/R&B influence. Christopher North, who had family obligations and was not totally happy with the group's shift away from the sound of the first two albums, had left the group in 1977 during the album's recording.
For the band's 1978-79 tour, North returned and the group added a second keyboardist, David C. Lewis, as well as an additional singer, Royce Jones, who joined in late 1978.
In April 1980 Warner Bros. released One Eighty, which produced two of the year's biggest hits. The first, "Biggest Part of Me", reached number three for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, The second, another blue-eyed soul hit, "You're the Only Woman (You & I)", reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. One Eighty earned the band three Grammy nominations, including Best Pop Vocal Group. A headlining world tour followed. For the Japanese leg of the tour, the group was joined by their longtime friend Cliff Woolley (formerly of The Association, who had also guested on Life Beyond L.A.) on guitar, harmonica and backup vocals.
thumb|325px|Ambrosia in 1980. L to R: [[Christopher North (Ambrosia)|Christopher North, David Pack, Royce Jones, David C. Lewis, Burleigh Drummond, Joe Puerta]]
The title of the album One Eighty was believed by fans to signal the group's "180-degree" change in direction.), their first effort without the assistance of Freddie Piro's production company. Produced by James Guthrie, the album consisted of intense, driving hard rock (outside of the soft ballad "Feeling Alive Again" and the progressive rock closer "Endings"). Though it received some airplay with "How Can You Love Me", the album was a commercial disappointment. The band then broke up afterwards, ending their run of chart success.
Live and alumni albums
On September 1, 2001 the band recorded a live album at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, California without David Pack. This album, Live, was released in May 2002. Also, in 2003, Collectables Records released another compilation album, How Much I Feel and Other Hits.
David Pack released two 2005 solo projects: Unborn, a compilation of older unreleased material, and the more up-to-date The Secret of Movin' On featuring collaborations with Timothy B. Schmit of Eagles fame, former Journey vocalist Steve Perry, Heart vocalist Ann Wilson and America co-founder Dewey Bunnell, amongst others. Both albums follow in Pack's later era style of smooth pop-rock.
Member solo projects
Several members have established careers outside of Ambrosia.
- Joe Puerta has started a studio near his suburban Milwaukee home, The Exchange, where he's produced several artists including Les Lokey, Big Nick & the Cydecos, Alaria Taylor and The Good Luck Joes.
- Burleigh Drummond drummed for roots CCM supergroup Lost Dogs for several albums. He and wife Mary Harris co-founded their own group, Tin Drum, which has released three albums with various backing musicians, and in 2024 the Tin Drum Family Band which includes their daughter Sierra Drummond and son Burleigh Drummond IV. Tin Drum is also a production company with such varied artists on their roster as bluesman Mighty Mo Rodgers and kids-oriented gospel act Kingdom Bound.
- Doug Jackson released his second solo album in 2016.
- David Pack joined childhood friend and former bandmate Fred Beato to form Beato Band.
Band members
Current
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1"
! width="75" |Image
! width="200" |Name
! width="90" |Years active
! width="120" |Instruments
!Release contributions
|-
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|Joe Puerta
| rowspan="2" |
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| rowspan="3" |all releases
|-
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|Burleigh Drummond
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|Shem von Schroeck
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|Rowspan="2"|
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|Doug Jackson
|2000–present
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|-
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|Mary Harris
|2012–present
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| rowspan="2" |none to date
|}
Former
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1"
! width="75" |Image
! width="200" |Name
! width="90" |Years active
! width="120" |Instruments
!Release contributions
|-
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|Christopher North
|
|
|-
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|David Pack
|
|
|all releases until Anthology (1997)
|-
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|David C. Lewis
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|keyboards
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|-
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|Royce Jones
|1978–1982
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|
|-
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|Bruce Hornsby
|1982
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|none
|-
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|Tollak Ollestad
|1989–2004
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|-
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|Robert Berry
|2004–2005
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| rowspan="4" |none
|-
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|Ken Stacey
|
|
|-
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|Rick Cowling
|2009–2013
|
|-
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|Kipp Lennon
|2021–2024
|
|}
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Ambrosia (1975)
- Somewhere I've Never Travelled (1976)
- Life Beyond L.A. (1978)
- One Eighty (1980)
- Road Island (1982)
References
External links
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- Michael McDonald sits in with Ambrosia in a tribute to the late B. B. King in May, 2015
- Ambrosia’s Mary Harris and Burleigh Drummond interviewed by Gonzo Today in 2017