Songoftheday 11/2/16 - We've got all night lets take our time, tell me your secret I'll tell you mine...
from the album Legacy (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 8
Today's song of the day comes from the country/soft-rock band Poco, who got their start when former Buffalo Springfield (the guys who did "For What It's Worth") member Richie Furay put together the first incarnation of the act with guitarists Rusty Young and Jim Messina, who appeared on the Springfield's final album. Adding bass player Randy Meisner and drummer George Grantham, the newly-minted Poco released their debut album Pickin' Up The Pieces in 1969. That set reached the top half of the albums chart, but in the meantime Meisner left (eventually joining the Eagles), and Timothy B Schmit came in to replace him. Major radio airplay didn't catch on until their self-titled sophomore effort a year later. From it "You Better Think Twice" was their first minor pop hit at #72. During the 70s, the band had moderately successful-selling albums, with both the live album Deliverin' and the studio set Crazy Eyes reaching the top-40. However, tension in the dynamics of the band and their lack of huge success (like those of say the Eagles or Crosby Stills Nash and Young) caused both Messica and eventually Furay to jump ship. However the band in name carried on, with Rusty still lead singer and Paul Cotton filling in for Messica. Their 1975 single "Keep On Tryin'", featured Schmit's high tenor on lead vocals, and landed them a #50 pop hit as well as their first appearance on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart at #23. Two years later, Schmit left to join the Eagles (by the way taking over for the departing Meisner there), leaving just Rusty Young and Paul Cotton, who had initially intended to make an album together, but were coerced by the label to continue the Poco name, shutting out Grantham from the group. The resulting record, Legend, became their best-known and highest-charting record, hitting #14 on the album chart and scoring them two top-20 pop hit in the U.S. with "Crazy Love" and "Heart Of The Night", the former also becoming their first (and only) #1 hit on the adult contemporary list. They couldn't keep up the momentum of this success, and after a series of albums in the early 80s, the band didn't put another out until then-hot Richard Marx convinced the original lineup of Furay, Messina, Meisner, Young, and Grantham to reunite for 1989's Legacy album. Produced by David Cole (Bob Seger, Dolly Parton), the comeback album's first single, "Call It Love", gave all but Young (who coincidentally sings lead) their biggest pop hit...
"Call It Love" returned Poco to the American pop top-20 in November of 1989. The single also climbed to #2 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio chart, while spending two weeks at #3 on their Mainstream Rock list. In Canada, the single made it to #11 on the chart.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
...and here's Poco (with just Young and Grantham from the Legacy lineup but with Cotton on board) live in 2004...
Up tomorrow: Atlanta eccentrics hit the big time with a little building.
Comments