Kathy Larisch and Carol McComb grew up in Vista, California, a suburb north of San Diego. They began making music together in high school, and slowly cultivated a musical bond that would see them share stages with artists like Phil Ochs and Linda Ronstadt. In the winter of 1964, the duo went into the studio to record the songs that would make up 1964's Kathy & Carol (Elektra), their only major-label release of the 1960s. The record was made up of mostly retooled folk ballads. Though the group worked to put its own individual stamp on the standards, McComb and Larisch were determined to perform the songs in the spirit of the original versions.
Due to struggles with various record labels, they didn't release a follow-up for the rest of the decade, eventually disbanding at the end of the '60s. Larisch quit the music business and taught at the California College of the Arts. McComb continued to write and record material, both as a solo artist and with other groups.
In 2010, Kathy & Carol finally released a second album, Keepsake, and are performing regularly once again. Elektra has also recently re-released Kathy & Carol, which had long since been out of print.