Gerry Beckley of America, Robert Lamm of Chicago, and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys crossed paths often in the '70s and '80s as their three Los Angeles-based rock bands toured and recorded. The three first sang together in 1990 on a track intended for a Lamm solo album, and that inspired them to try recording a whole album as a trio. Moonlighting from their day jobs with their respective groups, they recorded Like a Brother between 1992 and 1997, then began shopping it to record labels. However, Wilson was diagnosed with cancer and died on February 6, 1998. Nevertheless, the album eventually was picked up for release by Transparent Music and came out in June 2000. ~ William Ruhlmann