Pure Prairie League soldiered on without Fuller and released its third studio album, Two Lane Highway, in the spring of 1975. "FM radio automatically soaked up the single, as did the country stations," recalled Mike DeGagne in All Music Guide, "and 'Amie' soon became one of the decade's most popular country-rock tunes." In 1975, nearly two-and-a-half years after its release, Bustin' Out reached the top 40, eventually earning a gold record, and "Amie" became a top 30 hit. Their efforts paid off in 1974, when radio stations began to play "Amie" from Bustin' Out, leading RCA to reissue the album and re-sign the band. Larry Goshorn replaced him and John David Call rejoined the group.Īlthough Pure Prairie League seemed to be falling apart and remained without a record label, the group continued to tour in the Midwest. Although then-President Ford would eventually pardon him, Fuller was forced to leave the band in order to perform two years of community service in a hospital in Kentucky. To further complicate matters, Fuller, who had avoided the draft by registering as a conscientious objector, became embroiled in legal difficulties.
"The songwriting team of Craig Fuller and George Powell was one of the finest in the business," wrote Richard Foss in All Music Guide, "and on Bustin' Out they made an album that is unequalled in country-rock." Despite critical response, bad luck plagued Pure Prairie League, and when their second release failed to reach the charts, RCA dropped the group. They also recruited Mick Ronson, an associate of David Bowie's, to play guitar and arrange strings on the band's sophomore effort. Remaining members Fuller and Powell quickly reformed, recruiting drummer Billy Hinds, keyboard player Michael Connor, and bassist Michael Reilly. In the wake of the album's failure the band fragmented, with Lanham, Caughlin, and Call departing. Pure Prairie League was released in March of 1972, and while critics retrospectively considered it one of the group's better albums, it sold poorly. The band added steel player John David Call before its first recording session, and replaced McGrail with Jim Caughlin. Over the next year the group established itself in Ohio, developing a strong following in Cincinnati and winning a contract with RCA in 1970.
AMIE PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE MOVIE
McGrail borrowed the band's name from a women's temperance league depicted in Errol Flynn's 1939 movie Dodge City. Singer-guitarist Craig Fuller, singer-guitarist George Powell, bassist Jim Lanham, and drummer Tom McGrail formed Pure Prairie League in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. In spite of numerous fluctuations in personnel, record label changes, and legal problems, Pure Prairie League continued to record, tour, and place singles on the charts. This success, however, obscured the band's early accomplishments and the rocky road it had faced attempting to establish a new style of music. Pure Prairie League, along with groups like the Eagles, reached mainstream radio listeners by the mid-1970s, as singles like "Amie" climbed the Billboard charts.
Although the band drew heavily from 1960s' rock, the group added a heavy dose of country and high-flying harmony that gave it a unique sound soon to be known as country-rock. When Pure Prairie League formed in the late 1960s, no one had put a label on the music they played.
0 kommentar(er)
