Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Orleans, and Firefall

Most bands don’t arrive fully formed, and it’s unreasonable to expect that they should. Pure Prairie League are one of the alpha examples of this, as between the conception of the band and the formation of their first solid line-up, it took five years for the band to truly come together. It was a further two before they actually released an album together. To put that in perspective, The Smiths formed and split up in five years of era defining creativity. The Beatles went from a Hamburg based rock ‘n roll covers act to releasing “Rubber Soul” in the same amount of time, but Pure Prairie League are still around to this day, something that neither of the previous two bands can claim. The band was named in 1970 by the band’s first drummer Tommy McGrail, and strangely enough, for a band who took so long to form, they managed to secure a record contract with RCA Records a little more than a year after they’d been together.

However, the band didn’t see much success with the label, releasing two critically acclaimed but low selling albums and were dropped when lead guitarist Craig Fuller was arrested for draft dodging and spent six months in prison. Fuller was arguably the band’s frontman before his arrest, but after his release he was not keen to return, so their bass player Michael Reilly took up the reigns of the band, employed a new singer and guitarist in the form of Larry Goshorn, and finally scored a hit in the form of the 1974 single “Amie”. The band spent the rest of the seventies as one of the most consistent bands around, but their fortunes faded at the dawn of the 1980’s, as they were dropped from RCA again, picked up by Casablanca records, who then went bankrupt, and the band were left without a record label by 1982. The band remained an in demand live act, however, and were able to support themselves by playing club gigs to their devoted fanbase until 1988, when they finally split.

However, the band came back together in 1998 with as much of their classic line-up as they could find and some newer faces on the country and rock scenes, including future Jack White sideman Fats Kaplin. Ever since then, their live shows have taken them all over the world and their 2005 studio album “All In Good Time” has been hailed as one of the best records of their career. It’s a stunning comeback that any band of their time would kill to have, and for that, along with a back catalogue to make anyone green with envy, Pure Prairie League come highly recommended.

Formed in the rural town of Doraville, Georgia, US, the band first surfaced in 1970, out of the remnants of the groups, the Candymen and the Classics Four. After a local recording studio opened, Bobby Bule, head of the facility, began arranging the session band, inviting Rodney Justo (vocals), Barry Bailey (guitars), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards) and Robert Nix (drums) to take the position. Having appeared on records for other artists, the session band decided to forge their own career, becoming the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

With Bule acting as manager and producer, they began to record their own original material, achieving a more radio-friendly sound to Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. Their first releases, "Back Up Against The Wall" (1973), "Third Annual Pipe Dream" (1974), "Dog's Days" (1975) failed to make much of an impact. However, with the new addition of Ronnie Hammond, replacing Justo, the band found a winning formula, gaining significant airplay on radio stations in the South. On their 1976 album, "A Rock and Roll Alternative," they managed to score a Top Ten hit with the single "So Into You," breaking into the national market.

Atlanta Rhythm Section continued to find commercial success with their next releases, finding a Top Ten album with "Champagne Jam" in 1978, featuring two hit singles, "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" and "Imaginary Lover." The band then embarked on several extensive tours, becoming one of the hardest working bands in the business. However, their commercial success was not set to continue, with their subsequent albums failing to make any hits, instead only decreasing album sales.

The band decided to split following 1981's "Quinella," reuniting intermittently for live performances and tours. In 1999, a new studio album appeared, "Eufaula," helping to continue the band's legacy to a new legion of fans. Since the releae, the band continued to tour and perform at festivals, finding their music often the topic of cover versions by country artists, such as Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd and Charlie Daniels.

Comprised of former Flying Burrito Brothers members Rick Roberts (vocals, guitar) and Michael Clarke (drums), former Spirit member Mark Andes (bass), guitarist Jock Bartley, guitarist/vocalist Larry Burett, and keyboard player David Muse, Firefall’s members largely met on tour with other bands or in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. Following Firefall’s formation in 1974, the group began performing in local clubs and bars, and produced a promotional demo tape in 1975.

A subsequent performance at The Other End in New York led the group to sign with Atlantic Records who issued Firefall’s self-titled debut album in May 1976. Led by the single “Livin’ Ain’t Livin’”, the record earned positive reviews and ultimately earned gold certification. The album’s second single, “You Are the Woman”, became a smash hit single reaching the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10, following which the band toured in support of Fleetwood Mac.

Released in July 1977, the band’s sophomore album “Luna Sea” featured collaborations with Cuban percussionist Joe Lala and future Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit. Rising to No. 27 on the Billboard 200 and aided by the No. 11 single “Just Remember I Love You”, the record was once again followed by non-stop touring. Thanks to their touring with Fleetwood Mac who were at the peak of their success, Firefall also became extremely popular, however tensions had risen between the substance users in the group (Rick, Larry and Michael Clarke) and the non-substance users (Bartley, Andes and Muse).

The band’s third album “Elan” proved their most successful to date earning platinum certification, however following its release Firefall’s popularity began to dwindle. Despite attempts at changing the band’s sound, Firefall burned out, with Bartley forming Firefall Acoustic in 1994 for the album “Messenger”. Under the same moniker the group released the tribute album “Colorado to Liverpool: A Tribute to the Beatles” in 2007, following which Bartley continued to tour as Firefall alongside musicians Steven Weinmeister, Sandy Ficca, Bil Hopkins, and Chris Ball.