Who Remembers Poco?

In the fall of ’71, Poco was no doubt the most popular of the first generation country-rock bands. By then, their album Deliverin’ had entered the Top 30 and Poco thanked its label, Epic Records, with a private showcase at the CBS Records’ Hollywood studio.

“We just set up as we would have for a small club,” recalls frontman Richie Furay, whose bandmates included guitarist/singer Paul Cotton (from the Illinois Speed Press), bassist Tim Schmidt (later of the Eagles), pedal steel player Rusty Young and drummer/vocalist George Grantham. By then, Poco was evolving from country-rock towards an edgier rock sound.

Furay says, “Though we were innovators of the L.A. ‘country-rock’ sound, we weren’t going top be pigeonholed into being a one-sound band.” The 14 songs they performed for label employees that day were a solid cross-section of tunes that had appeared on its first four albums including the medley “Hard Luck Child/Child’s Claim to Fame/Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” plus “I Guess You Made It,” “A Man Like Me,” “Ol’ Forgiver,” “Heart That Music,” “Hurry Up,” “You Are the One” and others for an hour of music. {via}

This rare, live, Poco’s Live at Columbia Studios, Hollywood 9/30/71, will be released will be on April 20 (4/20). They are still touring; see website for info.

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