Dash Crofts, ‘Summer Breeze’ hitmaker with Seals & Crofts, dies at 87

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Dash Crofts, one half of the popular 1970s musical duo Seals & Crofts, passed away Wednesday at a hospital in Austin, Texas. He was 87 years old. The duo was known for mellow, hit songs like “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl,” and “Get Closer.”

His daughter Lua Crofts Faragher told the New York Times the cause of death was heart failure.

As a lifelong movie and music fan, I always loved the sound of Seals & Crofts. Along with his partner Jim Seals (who sadly passed away in 2022), they really shaped that smooth, mellow soft-rock vibe of the ’70s. Think gorgeous harmonies, gentle guitar strumming, and a really cool, laid-back groove – it was the perfect antidote to all the craziness of the late ’60s. They, along with artists like America, Bread, and James Taylor, gave us songs about love and friendship that just felt good. Years later, people started calling this style ‘yacht rock,’ and honestly, Seals & Crofts were definitely among its kings.

The duo’s biggest hit was 1972’s “Summer Breeze,” which described a peaceful Friday night at home:

See the smile awaiting in the kitchen

Food cooking and the plates for two

Feel the arms that reach out to hold me

In the evening, when the day is through

The song, evoking a peaceful summer feeling with its lyrics about a gentle breeze and jasmine, was a major hit. It earned a Grammy nomination, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped propel the band’s album to double-platinum status. It has continued to find success, racking up over 320 million streams on Spotify and appearing in popular films and TV shows like “Dazed and Confused” and “Freaks and Geeks.” The Isley Brothers covered the song in 1973, and in the 1990s, the gothic metal band Type O Negative released a slower, heavier version of their own.

Darrell Crofts, known as Dash, was born on August 14, 1938, in Cisco, Texas, where his father worked as a cattle rancher. His twin sister, Dorothy, was nicknamed Dot. He and a friend, Seals, both dreamed of a music career and moved to California together in the late 1950s. They soon joined the Champs, a band that had recently reached number one on the charts with their popular instrumental song, “Tequila.”

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Seals and Crofts performed with The Champs, alongside Glen Campbell, until the mid-1960s. They released their debut album as Seals & Crofts in 1969, and around this time, they also became followers of the Baha’i faith.

Following the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, the duo released “Unborn Child,” a song opposing abortion that sparked significant criticism. In a 1991 interview with The Times, Seals explained the song wasn’t meant to be judgmental, but rather to raise the question of the child’s perspective and emphasize the preciousness of life. He also noted that if they’d known the song would cause so much division, they might have reconsidered releasing it.

Seals & Crofts stopped making music together around 1980, but they later rejoined to perform concerts. They even released a new album called “Traces” in 2004. Jim Crofts is survived by his wife, Louise, his daughters Lua and Amelia Crofts Starkweather, and his son, Faizi.

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2026-03-26 22:02