Rock and Roll History

[Colt1861Navy]

Rock 'n' Roll Artists A-Z...Poco

http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-11020/Poco/poco.html

http://poco.musicpage.com/

Poco is one of the most underrated of the country rock bands, arising from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Their original name was Pogo, but they changed their name to Poco because of a lawsuit. Richie Furay and Jim Messina were the driving force in starting Poco. The idea to start a country rock group after Buffalo Springfield ended came together during work on Buffalo Springfield's last album "Last Time Around" when they decided to use a steel guitar on one of the songs. Rusty Young played on "Kind Woman" (considered to be the first Poco song).

Crosby Stills and Nash was formed when Stephen Stills and Neil Young left Buffalo Springfield in August 1968. Richie Furay who started out in Au Go Go Singers together with Stephen Stills and Jim Messina who also played in Buffalo Springfield formed Poco together with Rusty Young and George Grantham. At first they called them selves Pogo. Pogo was a comic strip written by Walt Kelly. Since Kelly served them a lawsuit, they had to change name. The name Pogo was beginning to be established, so they needed something similar. It became Poco. Grantham and Young came from a Colorado band called Boenzee Cryque. On the first album Randy Meisner played bass guitar. Meisner came from the L.A. band The Poor. Meisner left after the first album (1969) and joined up with Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band and then The Eagles. He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. Schmit came from a band called Glad. He also played with a band called New Breed and one called Contenders (later Redwing). Messina left after three albums (1970) and formed Loggins and Messina together with Kenny Loggins. He was replaced by Paul Cotton. Cotton came from Illinois Speed Press and The Rovin Kind and The Mus-Twang. Furay left after six albums (1973) and started a new group with Chris Hillman and John David Souther. They called themselves Souther Hillman Furay Band. Timothy left the band after ten albums (1977) and joined up with The Eagles too after Meisner had left The Eagles.

When Grantham left the band after twelve albums (1977) to join a band called Secrets the group reformed. Steve Chapman came to play the drums. Charlie Harrison came to play the bass and Kim Bullard to play the keyboards. Harrison left after five albums (1982). Bullard has played with Crosby Stills and Nash. Harrison and Chapman have played with Leo Sayer's band and Al Stewart's band. Harrison also played with Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd.

In 1984 Grantham, Schmit and Furay played on the Inamorata album and in 1989 the origianal setting of Poco joined together for the Legacy album to celebrate 20 years of Poco as a gift to the fans and their friends.

The fans and their friends are still waiting for a follow-up.

After the breakup Rusty formed a new band called The Sky Kings. He has also toured as Poco together with Paul Cotton, Richard Neville and Tim Smith.

In early 2000 Paul Cotton, Rusty Young, George Grantham got back together again together with Jack Sundrud from Great Plains and toured frequently. Jack did also tour with Poco during the years 1985 - 1987.

Poco's current line-up consists of founding members, pedal steel guitarist/vocalist Rusty Young ( Four Wheel Drive, The Sky Kings, Boenzee Cryque ), drummer/vocalist George Grantham (Ricky Skaggs, Steve Warnier, Boenzee Cryque), long time guitarist/vocalist Paul Cotton ( Illinois Speed Press ), and bassist/vocalist Jack Sundrud ( Great Plains ). Rusty Young on Poco, "It takes a combination of a lot of things to keep a band together," Young says. "I've known George Grantham since we were 16 and in kid bands in Colorado. Paul joined in 1970 so we've been bandmates and best friends for 30 years. I'm a fan of his ( Paul's ). The reason bands go through members is people grow as artists. If bands don't change, that means they're not growing as artists. "I've always thought of Poco as a tree that had to be pruned. When Jim Messina and Richie Furay left it gave the rest of us room to grow. When those guys were in the band we never had a hit record. When they left we went platinum. It gave us room to grow and they certainly had success."

Rusty Young is a veteran popsmith. He has sang two top forty hits as a member of Poco ("Crazy Love", and "Call It Love"), and has written numerous other tunes throughout the years, some of which have been covered by Bryan White, The Buffalo Club, and Emmy Lou Harris to name a few. "I write all the time but I'm a slow writer," Rusty says . "Some people write a song a day. I write maybe a song a month. I'm so
picky. I go over and over and over a song." He frequently can be heard playing solo at the Nashville music haunt, The Bluebird Cafe . Rusty has completed around twenty Poco recordings, and has guest appeared on numerous projects including Christian rocker Steven Curtis-Chapman, Bill Lloyd (Foster and Lloyd), and The Derailers . "I'm not doing sessions as a session player. I don't enjoy that," he said. "But I'll play with my friends. I play with Chris Knight. I play with Bill Lloyd. That I like. I probably should practice, but I don't. I started when I was 6. I'm what, 21 now? What I do is so defined by my history. I do get a lot of practice on guitar when I'm writing songs."

Long time collaborator and friend of Rusty Young's , Paul Cotton says of Rusty, "There’s always been something there," Cotton says of Young."I mean, he’s the one who has carried this Poco banner for so many, many years. Rusty’s the one carrying the steel guitar through the airport, and we use it on one or two songs; he’s the one carrying the dobro, and we use it, again, on one or two songs. He and I have outlasted four marriages, all those band members, wonderful players that they are, for 30 years. It’s meant something." Cotton can see a place both for him, and for Poco, in the music business. "You know," Cotton said, laughing," I can see Rusty and me, riding off into the sunset, on our Appaloosas, playing in a tent somewhere. I hope it never ends."

Poco I (August 1968 - February 1970)

Richie Furay - guitar/vocals - b. Paul Richard Furay, May 9, 1944, Yellow Springs (Dayton), Ohio.
Jim Messina - lead guitar/bass/vocals - b. James Messina, December 5, 1947, Maywood, California - formerly with Buffalo Springfield.
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals - b. Norman Russell Young, February 23, 1946, Long Beach, California - formerly with Denver band Boenzee Cryque.
George Grantham - drums/vocals - b. November 20, 1947, Cordell, Oklahoma - formerly with Denver band Boenzee Cryque.
Randy Meisner - bass/vocals - b. Randall Meisner, March 8, 1946, Scottsbluff, Nebraska - formerly with local Scottsbluff band The Poor.

Albums:
"Pickin' Up the Pieces" (1969) - Single: "Pickin' Up the Pieces"
Randy Meisner joins Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band and later was a founding member of The Eagles.

Poco II (February 1970 - November 1970)

Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
Jim Messina - guitar/bass/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
George Grantham - drums/vocals
Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals - b. October 30, 1947, Sacramento, California - formerly with New Breed / Redwing.

Albums:
"Poco" (1970)
"Deliverin'" (live) (1971)
Jim Messina joins guitarist-singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins to form Loggins and Messina.

Poco III (November 1970 - September 1973)

Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals - b. Norman Paul Cotton, February 26, 1943, Los Angeles, California - formerly with The Capitols, The Mus-twangs, The Gentrys, The Rovin' Kind, and The Illinois Speed Press (duo with Kal David).
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals
George Grantham - drums/vocals

Albums:
"From the Inside" (1971)
"A Good Feelin' To Know" (1972)
"From the Inside / A Good Feelin' to Know" (2-fer) (1999)
"Crazy Eyes" (1973)
Following "Crazy Eyes", Richie Furay left to form the The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with Chris Hillman and John David ("J.D.") Souther.

Poco IV (September 1973 - September 1977)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals
George Grantham - drums/vocals

Albums:
"Poco Seven" (1974)
"Cantamos" (1974)
"Head Over Heels" (1975)
"Poco Live" (1975)
"Rose of Cimarron" (1976)
"Indian Summer" (1977)
Timothy B. Schmit leaves to join The Eagles. George Grantham later joins The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Poco V (March 1978 - 1980)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
Steve Chapman - drums - Born in England.
Charlie Harrison - bass/vocals - Born in England.

Albums:
"Legend" (1978)

Poco VI (March 1980 - 1982)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/banjo/vocals
Kim Bullard - keyboards/vocals - b. Atlanta, Georgia.
Steve Chapman - drums
Charlie Harrison - bass/vocals

Albums:
"Under the Gun" (1980)
"Blue and Gray" (1981)
"Cowboys & Englishmen" (1982)
"Ghost Town" (1982)

Poco VI (1982 - 1987)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/vocals
Kim Bullard - keyboards/vocals
Steve Chapman - drums

Album:
"Inamorato" (1984)
"Ghost Town / Inamorato" (2-fer) (1995)

Poco VII ( ? - ? )

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/vocals
Kim Bullard - keyboards/vocals
Steve Chapman - drums
Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals - formerly with Great Plains.
Rusty Young joins Four Wheel Drive/The Sky Kings.

Poco VI (1989 - 1990) (reformed with original 1969 lineup)

Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
Jim Messina - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
Randy Meisner - bass/vocals
George Grantham - drums/vocals

Album:
"Legacy" (1989)

Poco VII ( ? - 2000) (reformed)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
Richard Neville - bass
Tim Smith - drums/percussion

Poco VIII (2000)

Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
George Grantham - drums/vocals
Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals

Compilations:

"The Very Best of Poco" (1975)
"Crazy Lovin': The Best of Poco 1975-1982"
"Backtracks" (1982)
"The Forgotten Trail (1969-74)" (2-CDs) (1990)
"On the Country Side" (1996)
"The Ultimate Collection" (1998)

Paul Cotton solo:

"Changing Horses" (1990)
"Firebird" (2000)

Timothy B. Schmit solo:

"Playin' It Cool" (1984)
"Timothy B." (1987)
"Tell Me The Truth" (1990)

Recommendations:

Personal favorites are their early live album "Deliverin'" and "Cantamos". However, if you're only going to buy one Poco album, buy the compilation "The Forgotten Trail (1969-74)"; it includes most of their classic songs along with several unreleased cuts and alternate versions --- A GREAT SET!

"DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" - by John Einarson; published by Cooper Square Press - Let me say right up front that I have been a big fan of country rock music ever since hearing the "Pickin' Up The Pieces" single from Poco's debut album. Poco has remained a favorite of mine through the years, although I always believed they were overlooked as a significant influence on popular music into the 1970s and the "new country" movement in the 1990s. Thankfully, this oversight is corrected by John Einarson in his book, "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock", which traces the history of country rock's rise in Southern California from the early days in the late 1960s up to The Eagles (unquestionably the most commercially-viable country rock band of all time). Having previously read one of Mr. Einarson's biographies on The Guess Who, I was anxious to see how he approached my favorite type of music...I was not disappointed. "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is an intricate tale of musicians struggling to be heard amidst the psychedelic and hard-rock sounds flooding the airwaves at the time...and these early country rockers did make themselves heard...The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, Clarence White, The Eagles, Michael Nesmith (remember The Monkees?...Nesmith made some great country rock music after that gig was over), The Dillards, Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band, The Dillard and Clark Expedition, Linda Ronstadt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...the list could go on and on. This book covers the early days of country rock from it's beginnings in the late 1960s to the tragic year of 1973 (when the music world lost two country rock pioneers: guitarist-extraordinaire Clarence White and Gram Parsons) and examines the influence this music has had on second-generation country rock bands such as Pure Prairie League and Firefall. In addition, the impact of these early country rockers on the "new country" music of the 1980s and the "alternative country" movement of the late-1990s and beyond is explored from a "roots" perspective. This is a tale masterfully woven by Mr. Einarson, based on more than 60 exclusive interviews with the originators and innovators of country rock. The amount of information and level of detail contained in these 288 pages is astounding, and there are 31 black and white photographs (some of which I've never seen before). The only improvement that I would recommend is the inclusion of a comprehensive index in the next edition (this would really help in finding information on specific artists). Even though I've been following country rock music for years, I learned a lot from this book. The quotes gleaned from Mr. Einarson's interviews during research for this book are particularly helpful in understanding the origin and development of country rock. "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is required reading for all fans of country rock or anyone interested in late-1960s to early-1970s music. Highly recommended.

Discography

http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-11020/Poco/albums.html

Photos

http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-11020/Poco/pocopics.html




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