Description: The son of fundamentalist preacher sings his first solo in front of an audience at age four. The congregation’s enthusiastic response inspires his dream of becoming a singer.

That dream comes true as front man of America’s first “Boy Band”, Capitol Records vocal group The Four Preps, whose classic hit “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” lands them in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. One band mate will later create TV’s Knight Rider and another the rock classic “Tainted Love.” This is their story too.

Verdict: Set against the backdrop of vintage Hollywood in the Fab 50’s, “ICONS, IDOLS and IDIOTS of Hollywood” recounts adventures with greats from Ozzie and Harriet to Elvis, Sinatra to the Beatles, Bob Hope to the Beach Boys, as four pals from Hollywood High get dropped into the fast lane of Pop music stardom while still in their teens. Riveting tales one reviewer called “. . .wild, ribald, at times poignant and always hugely entertaining.”

As for this reviewer, well, descriptive words and terms that come to my mind - having now read Icons, Idols and Idiots of Hollywood - My Adventures in America’s First Boy Band twice through in quick succession- are enjoyable romp, colorfully detailed, and both hearty and informative; so, as you can tell, this is most definitely a book that lives up to its title!

Ergo, what we have here is a book that not captures the very essence of the era that Bruce Belland is talking of, but encapsulates perfectly the kind of man the author himself is. An artist in both his prose and his descriptive verbology, most everything he throws down is relatable - and even if some of it accounts for a time when we ourselves wouldn’t have ever been so lucky, Bruce manages to ensure that each tasty morsel is grounded, wholesome and remarkably entertaining.

But, as Bruce himself freely admits, “This is my story, but it’s also the story of two other young dreamers who were every bit as driven as I was to make their mark in Hollywood: Glen A. Larsen and Ed Cobb.”

“Together - with fourth Prep Marv Ingram - we achieved worldwide fame while still in our teens. Then they both went on to become giants in their own right and still make more show business history.”

“I was lucky to have them as my friends, musical brothers and partners in making my dream a reality. It would never have happened without them.”

The short Prologue opens in 1940, where a 4 year-old Bruce is about to perform is very first solo in front of an audience, during a morning worship service. His dad being a fundamentalist minister with a small congregation on the Northwest side of Chicago, it was a readymade platform for the young lad.

When he finishes his rendition of God Bless America, they all erupt into rapturous applause, cheer and even shouts of Amen start to ripple around the inside walls of the gathering. His father rushes over, wraps him into tight bear hug and growls in his ear, “You are terrific!” His mom remains seated at her piano, yet her turned head reveals her eyes brimming with pride. And so, as expected, not only does the young Bruce love the way it is all making him feel, but (and, no pun intended) the stage is well and truly set for the start of his dream life.

Pushing forward and it was at HHS in 1954 that Bruce convinced Glen Larson, a friend since grammar school, to co-found a vocal group for that year’s student talent show. Bruce, Glen and two pals from the school choir, stole the show with the Crew Cuts’ “Sh-Boom.” Convinced they were on to something special, Bruce and Glen enlisted two classmates—Bruce’s friend 6’4” bass and high school football star Ed Cobb, and high tenor and former boy soprano in the famed Mitchell Boys Choir, Marv Ingram—to permanently fill the other two slots.

They may well have just been four driven kids from meager backgrounds, but then and there The Four Preps were born!

Of course, the book goes on to recount how after “26 Miles” became an almost instant hit on the charts, which almost as quickly enabled the song to become the eternal anthem of Southern California’s Catalina Island, how the band found itself sharing the bill with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Rosemary Clooney on a TV special entitled The Edsel Show (which was, in all truth, set up wholly to sell a new car).

So sure, the book details the bands rise to fame, their time spent in the spotlight, but it also showcases the subsequent slow down of their careers, and what they did thereafter. Sadly, today, Bruce is the last survivor of the original Four Preps, but the author has done an incredible, magnificently dedicated job here in keeping their spirits alive in what is most assuredly an expressively diligent, yet highly upbeat and remarkably dutiful read (at over 400 pages and complete with 100 photos) from start to finish.

Inclusive of chapters such as The Last Good War, Marilyn Moves In, Singing for Gas Money, Lawrence Welk and the Candy Bar, Ricky Nelson, Crosby On My Left, Sinatra On My Right, Ed Sullivan Calls, Godzilla With Three Stripes, JFK Gets His Way, The Friars Have Sammy Davis Jr. for Lunch, Hey Beatles, Dick Clark, and amongst a slew of others, One Dead Junkie and a Masturbating Monkey, the book is a genuinely heartwarming, impassioned and most wondrously crafted book, written and sculpted through time by its dedicated storyteller supreme, Bruce Belland.

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