Biography:

David 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.

Life and career

David LaFlamme was born in New Britain, Connecticut on May 4, 1941.^[1] His mother was from a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, 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 at the age of five, and in Salt Lake City he won a competition to perform as soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

After briefly serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to the music scene in San Francisco in 1962. During the 1960s he performed with a wide variety of notable San Francisco acts, such as Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin. He helped create the band Electric Chamber Orkustra, and later, an early version of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Then in summer 1967 he and his wife Linda Neska Laflamme formed It’s a Beautiful Day. The group’s eponymous LP was released by Columbia Records in 1969, containing their biggest hit, “White Bird“. The album was produced by David LaFlamme.

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. 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 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.

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. From 2000, he performed with the reconstituted band, which included his wife Linda Baker LaFlamme (not the same person as his previous wife Linda LaFlamme) and original drummer Val Fuentes.

LaFlamme also appeared on the television shows Frasier, Ellen, and Wings, as a strolling violinist who stands right at the table in a restaurant, playing loudly or annoyingly.

In later years, LaFlamme suffered from Parkinson’s disease. He died on August 6, 2023, at the age of 82.^[2]

Credits: