If you need to tell me how big you are, send me your reviews, then you can’t be that big or great to begin with.
I know, this sounds just the opposite of today’s overwhelming world with a million messages and a fight for attention, but if you’re an artist, your work must speak for itself, or else you’re doomed. No one can convince me you’re great unless I feel it myself.
When you hype yourself it just seems desperate.
If your label does so…then you have plausible deniability. It’s one step removed.
And then there are the people who ask you to vote for them for this or that. I mean really? Once again, if you need to ask… If it doesn’t happen organically, then how deep a fan base do you have?
And it is all about fans, and respecting them.
If I’m a fan I already believe in you, I want a personal relationship, I don’t want you to sell to me. This isn’t multi-level marketing, this is a human connection. Don’t pester me with hype, deliver information that makes me feel like I’m related to you. Be satisfied I’m paying attention at all. If I really like you I’ll tell everybody I know about you. But don’t ask me to do the work, unless you’re appealing to pre-teens.
Charts… I never get an e-mail from someone saying they’re not number one or two somewhere. Klezmer vinyl in Afghanistan, I’m number one! How could you be so big if I’ve never heard of you?
Never mind that TV and press mean so little these days. And often appears like it’s bought.
Now there are some acts based on self-promotion. Like KISS. And Howard Stern. It’s part of their personality. But even Howard doesn’t do this anymore, he’s achieved status, he doesn’t need to constantly remind others of it.
If I can’t experience the work and be affected, want to listen, you’re in trouble. That’s the only criterion. Doesn’t matter who says what, I’m not interested.
Let’s be clear, I’m talking about career acts here. And that’s all that really matters anymore. These are not the acts the majors are concentrating on. It’s beneath the dignity of a touring act with a fan base to constantly remind those already buying tickets how great they are.
And in a world with so many messages, yours telling us about your chart numbers, your reviews, actually works against you. It makes you look tiny and desperate.
I know it’s a tough world out there. If you make marginal music, or music that is not widely adopted, you need to accept that. You’ve got a niche, do your best to monetize and be happy. Don’t get frustrated you’re not bigger if you are that klezmer artist. The great thing about the modern world is there’s room for more acts than ever before, but fewer are big hit acts. And it’s not Spotify that is holding you back, Spotify is helping you, exposing you. It’s that the mass of public just isn’t interested. If the majors can’t break new acts, what are the odds that you’re going to blow up based on a review in a publication I’ve never heard of telling me you’re great?
We know your status. If you need to convince us you’re bigger, that just makes us uneasy, realizing we’ve invested in someone who is really not that big.
In our eyes, you’re a giant, if you don’t believe this, you’re screwed.
I was at Beaver Creek yesterday for some mountain biking before the rain … stayed for the ARS show. Having played them on the radio since they first broke in the 70s, I was curous to see this cover band. Most memorable scene was the mom walking in with 3 little girls in tow, each of the kids with their hands over their ears and their faces showing agony. Promised myself to stay until they played one of the big hits… it was “So Into You” which included an excruciating extended jam/guitar solo. I left after that, along with at least a third of the rest of the audience… and the band had a half-hour to go…
Best,
Tom Fricke
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In 1980, ARS played a college show at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma where I was a student. The student body was the promoter, and we lost our shirt – like really blew the total ASB budget out of whack for the year.
I was the head of concerts as a Senior in 1983 – after 2 years without a “Headliner” show, We had a chance to book Jimmy Buffet acoustic on the “Somewhere over China” tour with very favorable economics. Due to the ARS Fiasco I couldn’t get it approved, so we had to pass and went with a Jeff Lorber featuring Kenny G … We were fortunate to turn a nice profit , and build back some goodwill , but passing on Jimmy Buffet haunts me.
Thanks
John Maltman
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The Atlanta Rhythm Section = Steely Dan with cowboy hats?
Formed from the ashes of The Classics IV and Roy Orbison’s band The Candymen (who also launched the career of Bobby Goldsboro).
I saw ARS about ten years ago – Dean Daughtry and Rodney Justo were still with them – on a triple bill with Pure Prairie League and Firefall.
Best southern rock guitar clinic ever.
Vince Welsh
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Hi Bob,
Long time reader, Agree with some of your opinions, not so much others, but this review of the ARS is SPOT ON!! These guys are purveyors of snake oil!
I grew up on ARS in Atlanta in the 70s, went to every Champagne Jam in the late 70s at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field. From R. Hammond’s vocals to Dean Daughtry’s sublime keyboard foundation and songwriting, to Barry Bailey’s singing guitar sound, ARS was indeed the Steely Dan of southern rock. They were grizzled studio vets who, together, created a sound like no other. I’ve heard a recent “greatest hits” recording from the band with the “no hit maker” lineup, and they are lame, but live it is even worse.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a review where you crucified a band like this, but think it is well deserved in this case. They need to stop trampling the ARS name…in the name of ARS.
Oh, and totally agree…Dog Days is the BEST of their compositions still today. I originally heard it and also HAD to own it. Mike McCarty’s artwork on all of their albums was also very cool.
Will McBride
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July 4th, 1978. Saw Rolling Stones in Buffalo’s Rich Stadium. The line up was: April Wine, Journey (Had never heard of them. No one had. Bought the album the next day.), Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Stones. Quite the fall over those decades!
Gary Sender
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I saw the “ARS†in a small Tuscaloosa, AL club in 89’. They still had original members keyboardist, Dean Daughtry and the lead guitarist, Barry Bailey. Barry Bailey was a great lyrical lead guitarist.
They played Champagne Jam as an encore. The instrumental break in the song was all Barry Bailey playing and I mean he was wailing. The audience members were jumping up and down to the beat of this instrumental shuffle break and the floor was moving up and down to the beat of the tune! The place was pulsing…
Tim Pringle
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A few days before my senior year of high school, in the August Dog Days of Georgia, I was at a Rum and Coke party out in the country. Despite nightfall, it was still hot. A group of us went for a drive, spiked, icy, sweating MicDonald’s coke cups in hand with the windows down.  We noticed a glow in the distance. Of course we investigated. We came upon a field to the left where in the center we witnessed a large wooded barn, in a solitary setting, totally consumed in the magnificent yellow and oranges of a fire. As we pulled over to watch, out of my Thunderbird’s speakers came Dog Days. We absorbed that song as we enjoyed the sight. So fitting. No firetrucks yet, just crackle and Dog Days. We all give each other a buzzed knowing look.  I want to go back Bob. I want to go back.
David Thomson
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3 of the best shows I’ve seen this year have been heritage acts with only one original member. I was more than skeptical but wanted to hear the music played live so I took a chance and had my meager expectations blown completely out of the water! If you get a chance and have any interest at all make an effort to see 10cc, Jon Anderson with the Band Geeks, and Os Mutantes while they’re on the road right now. You will not be disappointed!
Doyle Davis
Grimey’s Records
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Kinda glad I didn’t see this…..Doraville has always slain me, one of the songs that came to Juneau in the mid-late 70’s with my then roommate there in Juneau, a fierce Southern Boy drummer biker dude from Jacksonville straight out of Central Casting, who I always thought must be running from something back home, cause he always had a vibe of something about to go hard left about him…he turned me on to ARS, and Doraville was what sealed it for me….but those guys were serious session guys whose groove was thick and solid, and that guy could sing… I’m glad I didn’t see the karaoke version, that woulda bummed me out hard, bums me out just to hear about it. And BTW, that bass player was monstrously good.
Wade Biery
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Ahhh yes, Ronnie Hammond and the original ARS…one of the great lead singers..the guitarists were pretty good too.. Yeah dead bands…I live near Daryl’s House in Pawling NY…and all we seem to get is tribute bands…Like a Styx/REO Speedwagon/Joni/Janis/Jimi/Johnny Cash June Carter tribute acts…
Chip Lovitt
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Glad you brought this up. I love these bands like ARS, Guess Who, etc but hate what these fake bands do to their legacies. They even put out new albums which all suck and in my opinion hurt the real artists histories. Burton Cummings from The Guess Who goes after the GW fake band on social media and I applaud him for trying to warn fans of these imposters. And by the way The Guess Who is still NOT even considered for the Rock Hall which is ridiculous… I will say the Skynyrd concert I saw in March was great and honored the original band better than I thought was possible so I do give them a break..I am old and know rock n roll music better than most and could go on and on and on:). But won’t for now. Thanks Bob and keep listening to the great and Real ARS. By the way I saw them several times and they could Play and Sing! What a concept. Van Fletcher
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Rolling Stone is so disappointing, it’s like a bad cover band trying to perform like the original members and totally failing. So that story is kinda ironic.
Leaving aside the issue of the ownership of the Molly Hatchet name (the story’s section on them doesn’t read right to me), they include the Ventures, actually mention the current drummer by name, but don’t point out that he took the drum chair in place of his father, Mel Taylor, upon his passing. That’s at least some credible link, but goes unmentioned.
Toby Mamis
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I am a native of Atlanta. I grew up in Decatur, just a few miles from Doraville. Started attending concerts in 1972, including Fleetwood Mac opening for Deep Purple and 2 nights of the ABB (with Berry, never saw Duane, the most influential musician of my entire life). All 3 shows were in the first week of my junior year of hs. What a week!
I saw ZZ Top on August 30, 1974. Excited to see them. A fan since Rio Grande Mud. Tres Hombres was just out. Went into the show with GREAT anticipation to see this hot group and walked out that evening…..with Atlanta Rhythm Section tunes in my head! I was blown away by this band I had never heard of. Went out the very next day and bought Third Annual Pipe Dream. Then I had to go back and get the first 2 albums. The second album, Back Up Against The Wall is excellent. Go listen to the song Conversation from that album. Just beautiful. My favorite tune they ever played.
The Dog Days album was a monster. I know that So Into You was what made them blow up nationally, but here in Atlanta, they blew up with Dog Days and stayed on top for years. And I didn’t even like So Into You. It was a departure from the early stuff. It just seemed too commercial. My interest waned after that. I saw them several times but not after they made it big nationally. To this day I still play their early records.
Zombie bands should be stopped. If you want to be a tribute band, go for it. At least people know what they are getting. There are many Allman Brothers tribute bands, with names like Live At The Fillmore. I’m sure they are entertaining but I would never pay to see them. With over 50 ABB concerts under my belt, why would I?
Neal Barfield
Atlanta, GA
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“Yes, the Atlanta Rhythm Section was on Polydor. Not quite as bad as Decca and MCA, but still pretty bad, even worse than RCA, which was a Mickey Mouse label.”
That’s insulting. There was a core group of veteran promotion and press people abetted by many newbies at Polydor, who busted their ass for The Atlanta Rhythm Section. “So Into You” was not an easy cross over. I remember Bob Pittman at some Chicago Top40 saying that “his research” came back saying that the track was “not a hit” when it was #5 nationally in Billboard. ARS got the ball rolling and we had success with many other artists (especially rock) over the next decade. I don’t have to cite them chapter and verse. ARS eventually moved to Columbia and had no success there before breaking up. Say what you may about “labels” from the 70s and 80s, but here’s some food for thought. If ARS were on Warners. the powers-that be- might have been satisfied with sales of 200,000 because they had plenty of those “respected acts” (eg Bonnie Raitt) and their high priorities like Rod Stewart, Madonna, Prince etal were the sacred cows of mainstream promotion. At Polydor (subsequently PolyGram), when we got our foot in the door we worked extra hard to break the damn door down. By the way ARS’ manger and producer was Buddy (not Barry) Buie. “So Into You” was far bigger than “Imaginary Lover.” An interesting side note- after So Into You, Polydor’s head of promotion, Arnie Geller, left to go into business with Buddy Buie. ARS’s summer extravaganzas in Atlanta, “Champagne Jam” attracted upwards of 50,000 in a football stadium at the same time they were playing clubs in the northeast. This Bronx Yid loved those guys. Indeed RIP.
-Jerry Jaffe
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Hilarious read! I can’t recall you panning anything like this.
If you haven’t already, check out ARS’ last real studio album 1999’s Eufaula. Contains some of their best work since Champagne Jam – especially Barry Bailey’s guitar work.
The last time I saw them they toured to support that album and played The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun in CT. They still had it.
Bob Levy
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All I can say I read the subject and thought… “this won’t be goodâ€
It was nice to see you and Andy up at Beaver Creek on Thursday. Yea, the big wheel keeps on turning and I keep going out to play if someone says there are people who want to take a trip down memory lane and hear a few new tunes as well. It’s fun playing with my daughter, truthfully I wouldn’t be doing this if she wasn’t along for the ride- (she has four daughters of her own) and her husband is really supportive for the few shows we do.
Anyway, thanks for the nice article, you have a great way of taking people along on your personal journey as you observe the music. Thanks for coming out and for stopping by to say hello!!!
Richie
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I produced, engineered and mixed  Richie’s “Still DELiverin’  Return to The Troubadour“ a few years back, which was the 50th anniversary concert at the Troubadour of the iconic Poco record “DeLiverin.'”
Richie is a good man and a consumate pro and can still bring it live. It was a pleasure getting to hear those iconic Poco songs after all these years.
One never knows what makes one a star but I got the impression that Richie probably didn’t care in the end about that.
Having worked with lots of stars there is something intangible that divides the “star†from the one that has sh*t gobs of talent but maybe doesn’t really care about that specific part of one’s career. I am not going to get in the secular religious piece of his or anyone’s career but I have quite a few musician friends that have set off on that path and it doesn’t really intersect with wanting to play the game.
Anyway, Richie’s music will be in the DNA of American music forever regardless.
Best back
Ross Hogarth
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Hi Bob,
It was nice to see you and Andy up at Beaver Creek on Thursday. Yea, the big wheel keeps on turning and I keep going out to play if someone says there are people who want to take a trip down memory lane and hear a few new tunes as well. It’s fun playing with my daughter, truthfully I wouldn’t be doing this if she wasn’t along for the ride- (she has four daughters of her own) and her husband is really supportive for the few shows we do.
Anyway, thanks for the nice article, you have a great way of taking people along on your personal journey as you observe the music. Thanks for coming out and for stopping by to say hello!!!
Richie
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I still stream Poco. I first met them at an outdoor gig I booked for them in 1971, I think, for the Simsbury (CT) Youth Center. Loved Pickin’ Up the Pieces album so much. It was an exciting time to be around live music.
Tony D’Amelio
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Poco. Central Park, Summer ’72. Powered mescaline. It started to drizzle during “Good Feeling to Know (with an extended jam at the end.) The stage lights lit the raindrops. Richie’s voice and Paul Cotton’s lead guitar turned the Manhattan night into one of the greatest musical moments of my life.
Matt Auerbach…
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One of the joys of producing concerts in the early days was the ability to make friends and keep them as they came through on tour. Every group had its own personality, created by its music, musicians and crew. Some you couldn’t wait to see, others not so much.
You always looked forward to working with Poco. Not only was the music sublime, but they could sell tickets, and were a pleasure to hang out with.
If every group has a public face, Poco can credit then-road manager Denny Jones. I hope some of your readers with similar backgrounds feel the same way.
Alan DeZon
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But anyway bye bye..fave Richie vocal,thx Bob
Woody Price
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Nicely written, I saw Richie as the opener for one of the final Ronstadt tours, understated excellence.
About the origins of the LA sound epitomized by the Eagles I had the same conversation with Christian Nesmith at my house several years ago which included Furay but also Christian’s Dad Michael and Rick Nelson’s Stone Cyn Band. It was a great blender at the right time that all birthed some great music.
Don Adkins
SoCal Photographer
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As good as anything today:
“Starlight (Richie Furay Band: I’ve Got a Reason) (1976)”
Tom Lewis
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Oh boy! What a great column! A few years back, I had the chance to see Richie Furay at the Turning Point in Piermont NY. A wonderful small venue that still attracts the road warriors like Steve Forbert, and many others in the tri-state musician community. The Buffalo Springfield, for me, was just the coolest band ever. Stills with that hat, and Neil with his fringed leather jacket. But I was always captured by their guitars, Neil played a Gretsch White Falcon…a guitar to die for in 1965, but it cost a thousand bucks. No wonder I bought a Hagstrom III for $129. Richie played a covet-worthy Gibson electric 12-string. Couldn’t afford a Fender Telecaster for $179 at the time…Anyway, Richie signed my copies of Poco albums, the first Buffalo Springfield LP…vinyl mind you…I bought the first version of the Buffalo Springfield’s first LP…it didn’t have For What It’s Worth as the first cut…It was Baby Don’t Scold Me. I brought the LP back to exchange it for the new version. That first LP without For What it’s Worth, became a collector’s item in the Buffalo Springfield saga. Richie signed my copy of Picking Up the Pieces and you could not have asked for a better meet and greet. Thanks for the report. I’ve been up at Vail and Beaver Creek when they get the music going and hey, rocky mountain high colorado!
Chip Lovitt
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I saw Jim Messina at Ridgefield Playhouse on the Thursday night before the Friday COVID shut live music down. A friend had extra tix and I was a little leery.
He was great. His band was like the Loggins and Messina bands, versatile with woodwinds and a lot of coloration and textures.
His voice and guitar were excellent and the songs were familiar and amazing. Acts from back in the day can be hit or miss when they reach a certain age but the Buffalo Springfield alums have done better than most.
William Nollman
Silvermine
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Saw Buffalo Springfield in 1966(?) when they toured with The Beach Boys. Â Became life-long fan of all the members of the band. Saw Poco in its original configuration at a local college. Last saw Richie Furay at Birchmere in Northern VA in with a band that included his daughter. He will always be among my favorite musicians.
William Hultman
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Once again, you nailed it.
On October 21, 2010 – a Thursday night in Seattle – I read online that the Buffalo Springfield were reuniting at the annual Bridge Concerts.
Withing minutes, I bought 2 10th-row tickets, booked a hotel, booked a first-class flight and, on Saturday, a friend and I were walking into the Shoreline to see them.
I patiently sat through an acoustic Billy Idol set, an acoustic Elvis Costello set (replacing an ailing Kristofferson), with Emmylou sitting in, etc.
Then there they were, Steven, Richie, and Neil with what was obviously Neil’s rhythm section.
The whole set was a acoustic, of course (it’s a Bridge Concert) but that didn’t matter.
I couldn’t believe this was happening – I was 12 when I bought Bluebird/Mr. Soul 45, and had everything they ever did on boxes, bootlegs, etc. A dead band. Yet there they were, starting with “On the Way Home”, with Richie on vocals. Richie Furay, flanked by Stills and Young!
I call these events “Lazurus Moments”.
I was close enough to see the looks on their faces and the state of their bodies. It was clear that Richie looked the same but with gray hair, and the other two looked as battle-worn as you’d expect.
Gary Lang
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Missed Furay at BC but I still have the SHF band album, from the cut-out section at Peaches. They tried to be the answer to CSN but no one cared. Richie was always close to stardom but never quite made it. I remember he was a Minister down in Boulder with his own Church years ago. Boulder had a great scene back then when Caribou Ranch was the place to be.
I saw that ASIA ad but there are two ASIA’s touring, the other one with Geoff Downes, the one at Beaver Creek? Like the two Yes’ a few years ago. So sad they can’t just all get along.
I learned to ski at the Concord and at Kutsher’s then went over to Holiday Mountain. They used to have tie-dyed snow at the Concord! Neil Sedaka’s parents I think lived in Monticello and I taught his daughter Dara to ski, or tried to, she was impossible.
A surprisingly good free show at BC last year was Ambrosia who sounded great even without David Pack, who has one of the best and most underrated voices in music. They did have the other 3 original guys and played a mix of the classic Prog stuff, the big ballads and some great covers They even joked about being labeled as Yacht Rock actually playing front of people who likely have Yachts, They really surprised me.
Now I really have to see Gary Puckett and the Union Gap at BC!
Ciao,
Barry Levinson
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Damn, Bob…this brought me to tears several times, had to write.
A guy at my first job in the grocery store in 1975 turned me on to Poco, and I became obsessed. Â Made special trips to Austin just to buy their albums at one of the then seven record stores within walking distance of The Drag.
The history of it, starting with Buffalo Springfield, was like an occult treasure to a “different” kid in Bumfuq South Texas. Poco was part of the biggest geneaolocial tree of rock and roll there ever was. Â Who did what, where the others came from…all of it was fascinating to a 16 year kid who saw rock as a sacred thing.
I learned about Illinois Speed Press and found the album on one of the Austin trips. It was like a hidden sub-history, finding out where Paul Cotton came from, and seeing how he changed the sound of the band.
Good Feelin’ To Know, as far as I was concerned, was a masterpiece of an album. Â THAT record should have broken them through. Â After that came Crazy Eyes, and you could tell Richie was leaving just by the writing, and the sound of the album itself. Â Finding out it was about Gram Parsons was like finding another bit of that history…that geneaology.
And the band shouldered on, became even tighter, if that’s at all possible, and put out Seven, Cantamos, and then the album with “Keep On Tryin’.” Â That song was what I would play people when I was trying to explain Poco to them and get them turned on to the band. Â I was a Pocovangelist when I was a sophomore in high school…I even did a massive painting of the cover of ‘Seven’ with the horseshoe, for my wall.
Then came Rose of Cimmaron, and when Timothy left, Rusty took over that airy-high vocal spot on the two records that finally “did it ” for them, with covers by none other than Phil Hartman.
I’m just a few years behind you in the chronological scheme of it, in that final section of the Boom called “Generation Jones”: too old to Boom, too young to GenX. Â I was anachronistic and autistic as a kid, glued to the radio from toddlerhood on.
I did deep dives on every kind of music, and the HISTORY OF IT was always first and foremost. Â The perspective of when it happened in the timeline, hell, just Historical Perspective in general, just doesn’t exist in people now. Â And they don’t want to know.
I am sad to see the natural progression. Â I feel as “cringe” as the old Big Bands my parents loved now. Â But rock and roll…it did bind kindred souls, no matter HOW old we were. Â Y’all may have been ten or so years older, but I was just as “there” with the music. Â The music bonded everyone, especially from ’64 to ’72, what to me were the “Golden Years” of pop music on AM.
The originals all passing, I feel an urge to make sure all that rock history that got me through a rocky teen-hood doesn’t all disappear and die. Â Another friend sent me a copy of a book written about the Haight Ashbury, called “We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us Against” by Nicholas Won Hoffman. Â He wrote it as his Thesis for “Dr. Jolly”…it has given me a whole new window onto the Haight Street scene. Â This is history that needs to be passed on, to be perpetuated, not to die with those who lived it.
Thanks again for another good one, Bob,
Byron Beyer
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Well, if the lyrics “Colorado mountains I can see your distant sky, bringin’ a tear of joy to my eye†didn’t resonate w/ the folks at Beaver Creek, then it’s unlikely they’d resonate anywhere else.
If I had to choose the most underrated band and artist from the 1970’s, my ballot would likely have Poco and Richie Furay at the very top. I’d probably have to select both as a write-in vote given the shameful lack of recognition of each (beyond Furay’s days w/ Buffalo Springfield), but those in the know certainly know.  The Eagle’s get all the accolades as pioneers of country rock, and probably deservedly so, but the quality of Poco’s music isn’t too far behind, and in several instances their work is arguably better. Poco’s writing wasn’t always consistent, (then again, whose is), but the band’s lack of recognition and commercial success is a travesty.
No doubt if Ahmet and the strong promo team at Atlantic records had oversight of Poco’s early releases, they would have had a much better chance of success, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. For those not familiar w/ Poco’s body of work, check out their 2-disc compilation “The Forgotten Trail.† Serious music enthusiasts are familiar w/ early stage Poco players Jim Messina, Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit and Richie Furay, but the late Rusty Young is arguably one of the best pedal steel players of all-time.
Stuart K. Marvin
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I lived in Boulder and had my first commercial studio there in the 70s. Poco, Firefall, Tommy Bolin, and Boz Scaggs were staples of the times. Glad Richie’s still doing it. As the Mighty Quinn said, “Take care of all your memories because you cannot relive them.†My trash bin will be full of tapes and records and books when my kids clean up after I’m gone. They might keep some actual photos and a few of my instruments, and I’m okay with all that. The satisfaction is that at least some of my story will live on, in whatever form the digital now allows. Your readers will still be quoting you until AI replaces all reading and talking. “Any day now, I (we) shall be released.”
Victor Levine
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I knew I was in trouble when I started seeing ads for bands I liked in junior high playing 4:30pm shows at The Villages. Hopefully rock ’n’ roll never forgets.
Vince Welsh
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This inspired me to see where else he was playing. Â At first it looked like New Jersey but then saw he’s at the Boulton Center on Long Island in Bay Shore on the 24th. Â Bought a couple of the few remaining tickets immediately. Â Looking forward to it.
Thank you!
Michael Williams
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August, Beaver Creek, the Rocky Mountains and Richie Furay… A Good Feeling To Know INDEED!
George Briner
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Bob: Thanks for remembering Poco. They belong in the RR Hall of Fame, as does America. Richie was the lead singer in Buffalo Springfield when I signed them to William Morris. They were a crusty bunch, except for Richie, he always was and has remained a kind hearted soul. The others eventually mellowed out, so kudos to them too.
Harlan Goodman and I managed Poco for eight albums, Poco Seven through Legend which delivered two top five singles and was their first and only platinum L.P.. They had a long string of managers, Green & Stone, Shiffman & Larson, Geffen & Roberts, Hartmann & Goodman, and Peter Golden. The story of their roller coaster career is classic American Rock & Roll.
The move to ABC is what changed the arc of their career. Abandoning one’s catalog was not de rigueur in those days. You lost your leverage. but Epic was too comfortable selling 350K units and never supported a single. Mybrother Phil designed many of their covers, including Poco Seven and Legend, his Horse logo remained their emblem to the end.
Forty years later I was at an ‘Old Timers Luncheon’ and sat next to this guy who informed me that he used to run Epic, and I told him how I sent Epic prexy Ron Alexenburg an original Phil Hartman watercolor of the Poco 7 cover. When we moved Poco to ABC he stomped on it and broke the glass. He sent it to me complete with footprints. I reframed it with the broken glass included. He says to me I’m Ron Alexenburg. I was totally shocked. He had lost a hundred pounds and I didn’t recognize him. He looked real good. We laughed a lot.
Music was our fuel in the sixties, Now it’s just grease to get the young people from screen to screen.
