When I was 6 or 7 I thought this was a hard rock song. That distorted guitar sounded so good to those young ears. This is Bread letting their soft rock guard down and opening up a good electric riff. It took me a long time to admit that I liked this band but I do now. They did soft rock well but they also covered other genres. Most of the hits though were David Gates’s melody-driven soft rock songs.
This was one of Bread’s more upbeat songs and was usually played just before the encore that their concerts. The band was known for soft rock hits like Baby I’m-A Want You, If, and Everything I Own.
On this Gates written track, David Gates played the two rhythm guitars on the track, and James Griffin played the guitar solo. Gates sang lead, while Griffin sang backup.
David Gates had already been playing live in various bands for four years by the time he moved to Los Angeles in the early sixties. There, he began writing hits “Popsicles and Icicles” by the Murmaids and “Saturday’s Child” for the Monkees, and producing Glenn Yarbrough’s “Baby, The Rain Must Fall”.
In 1967, Robb Royer suggested to Gates that they form their own group, along with mutual friend Jimmy Griffin, and after being inspired by a bread truck passing by, the group Bread was born. Their debut album was released in 1969 and contained the song It Don’t Matter To Me.
Mother Freedom was on the Baby I’m-a Want You album released in 1971. The song peaked at #37 on the Billboard 100 in 1972. The album did well and peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Charts, #9 in Canada, and #9 in the UK.
So dust off your door beads, fire up your Chevy van, check your mood ring, and crank up some Bread…
Mother Freedom
Freedom, keep walkin’
Keep on your toesand don’t stop talkin’ ’bout
Freedom, get goin’
Lots to be learned and lots to be knowin’ ’bout
People, gotta reach ’em
Sit ’em right down and then you gotta teach ’em ’bout
Freedom, gotta win it
Gotta put yourself smack dab in it
Hey tomorrow
Now don’t you go away
Cause freedom
Just might come your way
Freedom, keep tryin’
People stay alive and people keep dyin’ for
Freedom, so don’t lose it
Ya gotta understand ya just can’t abuse it
Freedom, get movin’
Never gonna stop till everybody’s groovin’ on
Love for, one another
Callin’ some friend and callin’ some brother
Hey tomorrow
You’re not so far away
Mother freedom
We’ll know you well someday
Discover more from PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I didn’t know this Bread song, but it does have some great guitar riffs.
I was just updating my post which will come out tomorrow about David Gates’ Goodbye Girl and his time with Bread. What a coincidence! Gates has a fascinating family history. I really liked this song ‘Mother Freedom’ Max. Thanks
Thanks for stopping by Matt…
I had their album “On The Water” and they could rock pretty well when they wanted to.
They could…and they had a power pop song or two…the only ones that hit big were the soft ones.
Good call on this one. I always just associated them with … with the, erm, Bread sound! (My younger sister had a Best of Bread album and probably because she liked them, I subconsciously decided not to investigate their other music! Nice one.n:)
My older sister was all into them, Cassidy, and the Osmonds…Bread stuck with me though…he wrote some good songs.
I don’t think I’d heard this before. Sounds pretty decent but I wouldn’t have guessed it was Bread… doesn’t even sound like David Gates singing to me. Nice guitars though….I always loved their ‘Guitar Man’ which had some good playing on it too.
They also have some power pop in their catalog as well I found…but it seems like the only singles pulled were the soft rock numbers.
true, but that did well for them. I would have loved to hear Gates and Leon Russell do something together; they grew up together in Oklahoma of all places.
That would have been quite a pairing! Totally different styles
I’ve liked Bread since the beginning. It’s not a band where I ever bought an album of their music, but at the time didn’t need to because they seemed to be on the radio enough.
Wow, I had no idea Bread had legitimate rockers like this one – sounds pretty good! I had only known some of their softer songs, which I enjoy as well.
BTW, I’m about to leave for a get-away with my wife in connection with our recent wedding anniversary. I promised her to leave the bloody laptop behind. As such, you’re likely going see few if any comments over the next few days. I may not get to catching up until the weekend.
Im probably too late but she is smart! You have a great time Christian!
Thanks, Max. And I’m probably even smarter for listening!😆
YES…a happy life equals a happy wife. Words to live by.
I love this one. Griffin wrote lots of bluesy rockers but his best Bread Era songs are soft ballads. And Gates’ one rock song that I know of blows away all Griffin’s rockers.
This sure don’t sound like no noodling breaking-heart-on-my-sleeve quavery voiced page-ripped-out-of some diary quiet little number. hTis was never Bread’s bread and butter- but it’s a nice taste of something spicier, for sure.
I had a teenage sister in the early seventies…therefore it was law I had to listen to David Cassidy, the Osmonds, and Bread.
My sympathies. David C, David G and puppy lovey dovey Donny O? Oh my God, in the early/mid 70s the unholy trinity fort he oestrogen set.
I remember…riding with my parents taking my sister Tammy to see Donny and a gaggle of girls chased him around the auditorium.
Did she go see The Stones on the 72 stop in Nashville? Oh no…David C….Cmon get Happy! NOT
Your childhood is looking and sounding ever more troubled. It’s no contest over here about whether I’d rather hear and see ‘Wild Horses’ or ‘Crazy Horses.’
Well think about it…when I thought Mother Freedom was a hard rock song…trouble could have been on the way…oh geez…Crazy Horses. That was their Mother Freedom.
The Monkees rescued me because from them I went to the Beatles and I haven’t left.
Sooner or later most all music lovers find their way to Beatles. At once you have the high level mark. And hey, I still enjoy watching ‘Head’ now and then; The Monkees got so many kids into music via reruns. Sometimes the 60s just won’t go away!
Thats me! In 1974 I started to watch the Monkees and I thought they were still a band…I was 7 at the time. They made it look fun and I wanted to play…I’m not famous but because of them I played and still do and get pure enjoyment out of it.
Of course Mike, Davy, Mickey, and Peter didn’t show the back biting and jealousy that went along with bands but hey…that is life! Yes the 60s left a huge footprint that we can’t climb out of.
Perfectly put.
Wow. I loved Bread but, this is new. I like it! Guitar Man is my fave of theirs.
Yea it was between this one and Guitar Man….I knew this one a little more… I have listened to them so much because of Tammy.
I was in the 7th grade in 1972 and this was the first song I heard from Bread. I believe I got the cassette via one of those Columbia Record Club offers and was pretty disappointed in the rest of the album. I still like the song, though. That same year, I discovered Free, Santana, Grand Funk Railroad, Argent, Deep Purple, and many other bands that would make me quickly forget Bread.
Yea…this song would fool you into thinking they were something they were not. A decade later I would be using Columbia House a lot.