History:

Richard Vale was a lounge singer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vale relocated to attend college in Los Angeles, California where he met accordionist / keyboardist Derek Reymer. Vale started singing live in the mid 1960's and soon founded his own group, The Gems, with Reymer. Richard Vale and The Gems held a residency at The Three Oaks club in Los Angeles. 

Roger Crowel joined the band on drums and they soon recorded a live album titled "The Many Moods Of Richard Vale And The Gems". It was released on CustomCraft out of Hollywood probably in 1966 or early 1967. 

The Gems continued perfoming around LA and expanded to other clubs. This resulted in another album release titled "Where Am I Going". Probably released in late 1968, this album was produced by Vale through his own Vale Records label. The album is noted for its more laidback jazz tunes along with some slightly psychedelic tracks. It is the only studio album Vale ever recorded. 

By the early 1970's Richard Vale and The Gems had broken up. Richard Vale reformed the trio with Derek Reymer (now credited with keyboards) and recruited Joe Barile as their new drummer. Joe Barile was very experienced. He played on a few albums with the country rock / blue eyed soul band Shango. Shango had a top 50 hit but flopped afterwards and broke up. Barile joined The Program soon after the break up. It is unclear if Reymer played cordovox or a custom keyboard rig consisting of synth bass, organ, and electric piano during this period. He switched to a multi-keyboard setup at some point in the 1970’s. Vale also contributed glockenspiel and percussion during this period. 

The trio remained in LA and recorded a live album together in 1972 titled "I Believe In Music Volume 1 and 2". Intended as a double album, the recordings are quite obscure and showcase Vale's funkier side. There are some original tunes on Volume 1 that were most likely written by Reymer and Vale. I couldn't find lyrical matches for "You Say You're Gonna Leave Me" and "Another Sunny Day" online. Both albums were recorded live in an Italian restaurant. Reymer sang a few lead vocals on both volumes. 

Barile left The Program the following year to become the drummer for The Ventures. That most likely resulted in the band breaking up. Barile performed with The Ventures for six years afterwards. Reymer continued playing weddings and parties and eventually opened a music company that was sold to Eddie Van Halen. If my research is correct, Richard Vale passed away in 2001 while still living in California.