Touch

Touch originated from the pomp trio American Tears, which issued three albums on Columbia throughout the 1970s. Mark Mangold performed on keyboards and delivered lead vocals, with Greg Baze on bass and Tommy Gunn behind the drums. The initial configuration put out a pair of albums featuring Mangold's grandiose compositions. For their third effort, Powerhouse, Kirk Powers took over on bass while Glen Kithcart handled drumming duties. This version proved more cohesive, prompting Mangold to retain the new drummer when forming Touch. Doug Howard then joined on bass, alongside singing guitarist Craig Brooks. The band's self-titled debut record showcased several highlights thanks to Brooks' robust vocal harmonies complementing Mangold's impressive keyboards and songwriting. During 1980, the four-piece performed at the inaugural Donington Festival, an event marked by Howard inadvertently ingesting a bee toward the conclusion of their performance. The track "Don't You Know What Love Is" featured on the ensuing compilation Monsters of Rock, yet the first album failed to gain traction, leading to Touch's dissolution amid issues with their label and management. Todd Rundgren oversaw production on a subsequent release, after which the duo of albums was merged into the compilation The Complete Works I & II. Mangold later collaborated with Michael Bolton and Drive She Said, in addition to numerous other projects.