George Grantham (musician)
Encyclopedia
George Grantham is a drummer and vocalist best known for his work with pioneering American country-rock band Poco
.
Grantham and pedal steel guitar
ist sensation Rusty Young
were members of a Denver-based psychedelic rock act Boenzee Cryque when Young left the band in mid-1968 for Los Angeles. There he fell in with Buffalo Springfield
members Richie Furay
and Jim Messina
as they wrapped up that act's final album.
With Buffalo Springfield disintegrated, Furay, Messina, and Young joined together to create a new band, Pogo, shortly rechristened Poco after copywrite concerns forced a change.
Needing a drummer, Young recruited Grantham, who shortly became part of Poco's founding line-up. A talented singer, Grantham's backup vocals were an important element of the band's distinctive harmony sound.
Grantham remained a member of various Poco line-ups through 1977, a span of ten studio albums and two live releases. He returned in 1985, and was part of four of five band incarnations before departing again 1990. Reunited once more in 2000, he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002 and was unable to rejoin the band again until some vocals-only appearances in 2009.
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
.
Grantham and pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
ist sensation Rusty Young
Rusty Young
Rusty Young is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter best known as one of the frontmen in the seminal country rock band Poco....
were members of a Denver-based psychedelic rock act Boenzee Cryque when Young left the band in mid-1968 for Los Angeles. There he fell in with Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
members Richie Furay
Richie Furay
Richie Furay is an American singer, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member who is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner...
and Jim Messina
Jim Messina
Jim Messina is an American musician, songwriter, singer, recording engineer, and record producer...
as they wrapped up that act's final album.
With Buffalo Springfield disintegrated, Furay, Messina, and Young joined together to create a new band, Pogo, shortly rechristened Poco after copywrite concerns forced a change.
Needing a drummer, Young recruited Grantham, who shortly became part of Poco's founding line-up. A talented singer, Grantham's backup vocals were an important element of the band's distinctive harmony sound.
Grantham remained a member of various Poco line-ups through 1977, a span of ten studio albums and two live releases. He returned in 1985, and was part of four of five band incarnations before departing again 1990. Reunited once more in 2000, he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002 and was unable to rejoin the band again until some vocals-only appearances in 2009.