David Gordon LaFlamme (May 4, 1941 – August 6, 2023) was an American singer and violinist best known for co-founding the San Francisco band

It's a Beautiful Day It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards. David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once p ...

Life and career

LaFlamme was born in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

, on May 4, 1941. His mother was from a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

family in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, and when he was eight years old, the family moved there to be near her family. LaFlamme had been studying violin since moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at age five, and in Salt Lake City he won a competition to perform as soloist with the

Utah Symphony Orchestra The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

. After briefly serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, he returned to the music scene in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1962. During the 1960s he performed with a wide variety of notable San Francisco acts, such as

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

. He helped create the band Electric Chamber Orkustra, and later, an early version of

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks Daniel Ivan Hicks (December 9, 1941 – February 6, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter and musician, and the leader of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. His idiosyncratic style combined elements of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, blueg ...

. Then in the summer of 1967, he and his wife Linda LaFlamme formed It's a Beautiful Day with the help of impresario

Matthew Katz Matthew Katz (December 20, 1929 – September 30, 2023) was an American music manager and producer, most notably as the manager of Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and It's a Beautiful Day. He was the owner of the record label San Francisco Sound, a ...

. The band's debut album, ''

'', was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by David LaFlamme. Released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1969, it contains their biggest hit, " White Bird". The album reached number 47 in the U.S. charts"It's a Beautiful Day USA chart history"
Tsort. Retrieved May 10, 2025. and remained on the ''Billboard'' Top 200 charts for over a year, achieving Gold Record certification in November 1972. The group's second album, '' Marrying Maiden'', was released the following year. It was their most successful on the charts, reaching number 28 in the U.S. and number 45 in the U.K."It's a Beautiful Day UK chart history"
The Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2025. After two additional albums, ''Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime'' and ''Live at Carnegie Hall'', LaFlamme left the group in 1972 over disputes regarding the direction and management of the band. For a time he performed with the groups Edge City and Love Gun in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

before going solo. In 1976, he released the album ''White Bird'' on Amherst Records. His remake of the song "White Bird" cracked the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 89 that same year. This was followed by the album ''Inside Out'' in 1978, also on Amherst Records. Both project releases were co-produced by David LaFlamme and

Mitchell Froom Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, including David LaFl ...

. Under LaFlamme's leadership, It's a Beautiful Day reformed periodically for reunions and special concerts. The group first reunited in 1978 to perform at Chet Helms' Tribal Stomp at the Greek Theatre in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, California, a show which featured future wife Linda Baker (using the stage name Dominique Dellacroix) on vocals. Additional reunion events were consummated between 1996 and 1999 featuring original members of the band. From 2000, he performed with a reconstituted group under the name David LaFlamme Band that included his third wife, Linda Baker LaFlamme, and original Beautiful Day drummer Val Fuentes. After years of legal wrangling over ownership of the band's name, LaFlamme resumed formal use of It's a Beautiful Day when former manager Matthew Katz let the trademark of the name go unrenewed. LaFlamme appeared on the television shows ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

'', and ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

'', as a strolling violinist who stands right at the table in a restaurant, playing loudly or annoyingly. He also contributed to Jefferson Starship's 2008 release, '' Jefferson's Tree of Liberty''. In later years, LaFlamme suffered from Parkinson's disease. He died in Santa Rosa, California, on August 6, 2023, at the age of 82.

Discography

It's a Beautiful Day albums

*''

'' (Columbia Records, 1969) US Album Chart No. 47 / UK Album Chart No. 58 / CA Album Chart No. 72 / US RIAA: Gold *'' Marrying Maiden'' (Columbia Records, 1970) US Album Chart No. 28 / UK Album Chart No. 45 / CA Album Chart No. 35 *''Choice Quality Stuff / Anytime'' (Columbia Records, 1971) US Album Chart No. 130 *''At Carnegie Hall'' (Live) (Columbia Records, 1972) US Album Chart No. 144 *''Last Flight'' (Live at the Fillmore West in 1971) (Big Sur Records, 1996) *''Creed of Love'' (Live at the Fillmore West in 1971) (Strawberry Records, It's About Music, 1998) *''Original Demos 1968'' (It's About Music, 2013) *''Live at the Fillmore '68'' (Live) (Classic Music Vault, 2013), with DVD ''The David LaFlamme Story''

It's a Beautiful Day compilations

*''A Thousand And One Nights'' (CBS Records, 1973) (UK Import) *''Rock Giants'' (CBS Records, 1982) (German/Dutch Import) *''Greatest Hits'' (TRC Records, 1995) (German Import) *''The Best of It's a Beautiful Day'' (It's About Music, 2001) *''The Columbia Years 1969-1973'' (Limited Edition Box Set) (Muskrat Records, 2008) (Japanese Import)

Solo albums

*''White Bird'' (Amherst Records, 1976) *''Inside Out'' (Amherst Records, 1978) *''Workin' the Gold Mine'' (Live) (David & Linda LaFlamme) (It's About Music, Classic Music Vault, 2000) *''Beyond Dreams'' (David LaFlamme Band) (Repertoire Records, It's About Music, Classic Music Vault, 2003) *''Hot Summer Days - San Francisco Nights'' (David LaFlamme Band) (Non-labeled, 2004) *''Live in Seattle'' (Live) (David LaFlamme Band) (It's About Music, 2004) *''Misery Loves Company'' (David LaFlamme Band) (It's About Music, 2005)

References

Sources

Interview with David LaFlamme (1998)

External links

David LaFlamme homepage Wayback machine
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:LaFlamme, David 1941 births 2023 deaths American male violinists American male television actors American rock musicians American rock violinists People from New Britain, Connecticut American rock singers Musicians from San Francisco American male singers People from Sebastopol, California 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians The Dinosaurs members