Pure Prairie League
Encyclopedia
Pure Prairie League, sometimes abbreviated PPL, is an American
country-rock band
whose roots began between 1964 and 1969 in Waverly
, Ohio
with Craig Fuller
, George Powell, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call. In 1970 McGrail named the band after a 19th century temperance union
mentioned in the 1939 film Dodge City
. The band has had a long run, active from the 1970s through the late 1980s and was revived in the late 1990s for a time, then again in 2004.
, and had its first success in Cincinnati
. Fuller (who would also play with J.D. Blackfoot and Little Feat
), McGrail, Caughlan and Call had played together on and off since high school
. An early pre-Pure Prairie League recording was a George Ed Powell penned
composition
, "Break Me Down to Pieces" with Powell (acoustic guitar
and vocal), Fuller (lead guitar
and vocal), McGrail (drum
s), Kenny May (bass
) and David Workman (pedal steel guitar
). In 1970, the first official PPL lineup was Fuller, McGrail, Powell, Phil Stokes on bass, and Robin Suskind on guitar and mandola
, with steel guitar player John David Call joining the band later that year. His steel guitar improved the country
songs and sparked guitar duels with Fuller that contributed to the country rock signature sound of the band.
Jim Caughlan, who had played drums and guitar with Fuller, Call and McGrail in earlier bands, took over on drums when McGrail quit the band in 1971, just before their first album
was recorded. Jim Lanham replaced Stokes who left at the same time. Pure Prairie League was looking for national artist management and they made contact with well-known rock and roll promoter Roger Abramson. Abramson went to New Dilly, a bar in Cincinnati, and immediately signed the band to management. Abramson was able to obtain a recording contract with RCA. Abramson then placed Pure Prairie League as an opening act with many of the concerts that he was producing. Their eponymous first album featured a Norman Rockwell
drawing of an old cowboy named Luke, who had originally appeared in Saturday Evening Post magazine. Luke would feature on the cover of every PPL recording thereafter.
After the first album's release in March 1972 and a nationwide tour, the band decided to relocate to a horse farm north of Toronto for the summer of 1972, since Toronto was where the first album had been recorded and Fuller felt safer there since he was facing charges of draft evasion. Call, Caughlan and Lanham were not agreeable to this move and decided to leave. The second album, Bustin Out, was produced, as their debut had been, by Bob Ringe and featured a trio of Fuller, Powell and William Frank (Billy) Hinds (drums, percussion). Hinds' friend Michael Connor contributed piano
to the sessions and would become a regular in the Pure Prairie League line-up for years to come. Mick Ronson
, of David Bowie
and Mott the Hoople
fame, contributed string arrangements on several tracks, most notably "Boulder Skies" and "Call Me Tell Me", and Michael Reilly, who would become the longtime bass player and front man for the band, joined them in early September 1972 after the record's completion. Bustin Out was released in October 1972.
Shortly afterwards, the group returned to Ohio and Fuller had to face trial in Kentucky
. Before conscientious objector
(C.O.) status could be arranged, he was sentenced to six months in jail and forced to leave PPL in February 1973. At this point, RCA dropped the band and their future looked bleak.
By August 1973, the band members were in Cincinnati and managed to persuade Call to return. Fuller, though out of prison by now, was working the late shift in a community hospital to satisfy his C.O. requirements and was not inclined to rejoin at this juncture (he was eventually given a full pardon by President Gerald Ford
).
Reilly took over as the band's leader and brought in his friend Larry Goshorn (vocals, guitars) to replace Fuller in November 1973. Goshorn had played in a popular Ohio band called Sacred Mushroom.
The band hit the road and began playing gigs constantly, mostly in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. As a result of their heavy schedule, particularly at colleges, their songs became well known, with "Amie" (Craig Fuller’s ode to an on-again/off-again relationship), from the second album, becoming a particular favorite.
RCA also re-signed PPL and their third album, Two Lane Highway, was released in April 1975, which featured guest appearances by Chet Atkins
, fiddler Johnny Gimble
, Don Felder
from The Eagles and Emmylou Harris
, who dueted with the band on the song "Just Can't Believe It", which received much airplay on country stations. Highway was the band's highest charter(#24) and Bustin Out reached Gold status, but their subsequent records, If the Shoe Fits, Dance, Live, Takin' the Stage and Just Fly, sold in lesser quantities.
In 1977 Call left because of increasing back troubles. Larry Goshorn's brother, Tim, joined in time to record Just Fly. In 1978 there was a mass exodus as the Goshorns left to form their own group, The Goshorn Brothers
, and Powell, the last remaining original member, retired from the road to run his pig farm in Ohio.
The group soldiered on as Reilly quickly brought in temporary members, California country rocker Chris Peterson (vocals, guitar) and the group's soundman, Jeff Redefer (guitar), to play a few shows until new permanent players could be located.
In September 1978 auditions found Vince Gill
(vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle), who had played with the bluegrass
outfit Mountain Smoke, as well as Boone Creek(with Ricky Skaggs
) and the Sundowners(with Byron Berline
). Further auditions brought in LA musician Patrick Bolin(vocals, guitars, flute) in January 1979. This revamped lineup recorded Can't Hold Back, which turned out to be their last for RCA. Sax player Jeff Kirk accompanied the band on some of the dates of their 1979 tour.
Casablanca Records
, who at this time were trying to play down their reputation as a primarily disco
label, signed PPL and other non-dance acts to their roster in 1980. In January guitarist Jeff Wilson came in to replace Bolin and the band's 1980 release Firin' Up spawned the hits "Let Me Love You Tonight
" and "I'm Almost Ready" both sung by Gill, with saxophone
accompaniment by David Sanborn
. A second Casablanca release, Something in the Night kept PPL in the charts with "Still Right Here in My Heart". But after Casablanca went bankrupt and was completely sold to Polygram Records, Polygram dropped most of Casablanca's roster, including PPL. Gill left in early 1982 and pursued a hugely successful solo career.
Tim Goshorn returned, Mike Hamilton (vocals, guitars, from Kenny Loggins
' band) also joined in 1982 and was there for 6 months, while Al Garth (vocals, woodwinds, fiddle, keyboards), another Loggins alumnus (Loggins & Messina, also Poco
and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
), joined from 1982-1985.
Longtime drummer Billy Hinds retired from the road in 1984 to be succeeded, first by Merle Bregante (also ex-Loggins & Messina and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), then Joel Rosenblatt (in 1985). Sax player Dan Clawson took over for Garth in 1985, and Gary Burr (vocals, guitars) was there 1984-1985.
1985 also saw the return of PPL co-founder Craig Fuller (who had fronted the groups American Flyer and Fuller/Kaz in the mid-to-late 70s after he'd returned to music). Mementos 1971-1987, released on the small Rushmore label, was recorded back in Ohio, where the band had returned their base, and featured guest appearances from many of the band's alumni, including Gill, Powell, the Goshorns, Call, Burr and Mike Hamilton. In 1988, the band decided to call it a day. Fuller, who had already joined a reformed Little Feat
in 1987, played with PPL for their final shows in the spring of 1988.
(vocals, guitars) in June 2000. The group began work on a new album in 2002, but abandoned the sessions and separated once again after Schell became busy with other projects. Connor died on September 9, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
Following Connor's death, the group resumed touring once more in 2004 with Fuller, Reilly, Schell, Wright and Kaplin (when available) and released All in Good Time in 2005, their first album in 18 years. This release appeared on the small Drifter's Church label.
Since this time, PPL have continued to tour playing a handful of shows every year. Donnie Lee Clark replaced Curtis Wright in 2006 after Wright joined Reba McEntire
's band. Mike Reilly was sidelined in 2006 after he was forced to undergo a liver transplant. Jack Sundrud (from Poco
) came in to sub for Reilly, and Rick Plant also did a stint with them on bass briefly before relocating to Australia in late 2006. Jeff "Stick" Davis (from Amazing Rhythm Aces
) sat in on bass for Mike in 2007. Reilly appeared at a few shows in May 2007 playing guitar but was unable to come back full-time until 2008. John David Call played some concerts in 2006 & 2007, standing in for Kaplin, and returned to the band full-time in June 2010.
The band endorses a number of charitable efforts, Pittsburgh's ongoing BurghSTOCK Concert Series among them.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country-rock band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
whose roots began between 1964 and 1969 in Waverly
Waverly, Ohio
Waverly is a village in and the county seat of Pike County, Ohio, United States. The population was at 4,433 at the 2000 census. The town was formed in 1829, as the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal along the west bank of the Scioto River brought new growth to the area. In 1861 the county...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
with Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller
Craig Fuller is an American musician and songwriter. Co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Ed Powell. Fuller departed after their second album, Bustin' Out, due to draft board problems. He returned to the music business in 1976 for two LPs with American Flyer...
, George Powell, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call. In 1970 McGrail named the band after a 19th century temperance union
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
mentioned in the 1939 film Dodge City
Dodge City (1939 film)
Dodge City is a 1939 American Western film starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Bruce Cabot. Directed by Hungarian-turned-Hollywood filmmaker Michael Curtiz and based on a story by Robert Buckner, it was filmed in early Technicolor...
. The band has had a long run, active from the 1970s through the late 1980s and was revived in the late 1990s for a time, then again in 2004.
History
Although the band has its roots in Waverly, Ohio, it was actually formed in ColumbusColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, and had its first success in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Fuller (who would also play with J.D. Blackfoot and Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
), McGrail, Caughlan and Call had played together on and off since high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. An early pre-Pure Prairie League recording was a George Ed Powell penned
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
composition
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Break Me Down to Pieces" with Powell (acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and vocal), Fuller (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and vocal), McGrail (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s), Kenny May (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and David Workman (pedal steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
). In 1970, the first official PPL lineup was Fuller, McGrail, Powell, Phil Stokes on bass, and Robin Suskind on guitar and mandola
Mandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, with steel guitar player John David Call joining the band later that year. His steel guitar improved the country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
songs and sparked guitar duels with Fuller that contributed to the country rock signature sound of the band.
Jim Caughlan, who had played drums and guitar with Fuller, Call and McGrail in earlier bands, took over on drums when McGrail quit the band in 1971, just before their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was recorded. Jim Lanham replaced Stokes who left at the same time. Pure Prairie League was looking for national artist management and they made contact with well-known rock and roll promoter Roger Abramson. Abramson went to New Dilly, a bar in Cincinnati, and immediately signed the band to management. Abramson was able to obtain a recording contract with RCA. Abramson then placed Pure Prairie League as an opening act with many of the concerts that he was producing. Their eponymous first album featured a Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
drawing of an old cowboy named Luke, who had originally appeared in Saturday Evening Post magazine. Luke would feature on the cover of every PPL recording thereafter.
After the first album's release in March 1972 and a nationwide tour, the band decided to relocate to a horse farm north of Toronto for the summer of 1972, since Toronto was where the first album had been recorded and Fuller felt safer there since he was facing charges of draft evasion. Call, Caughlan and Lanham were not agreeable to this move and decided to leave. The second album, Bustin Out, was produced, as their debut had been, by Bob Ringe and featured a trio of Fuller, Powell and William Frank (Billy) Hinds (drums, percussion). Hinds' friend Michael Connor contributed piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
to the sessions and would become a regular in the Pure Prairie League line-up for years to come. Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
, of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
fame, contributed string arrangements on several tracks, most notably "Boulder Skies" and "Call Me Tell Me", and Michael Reilly, who would become the longtime bass player and front man for the band, joined them in early September 1972 after the record's completion. Bustin Out was released in October 1972.
Shortly afterwards, the group returned to Ohio and Fuller had to face trial in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Before conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
(C.O.) status could be arranged, he was sentenced to six months in jail and forced to leave PPL in February 1973. At this point, RCA dropped the band and their future looked bleak.
By August 1973, the band members were in Cincinnati and managed to persuade Call to return. Fuller, though out of prison by now, was working the late shift in a community hospital to satisfy his C.O. requirements and was not inclined to rejoin at this juncture (he was eventually given a full pardon by President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
).
Reilly took over as the band's leader and brought in his friend Larry Goshorn (vocals, guitars) to replace Fuller in November 1973. Goshorn had played in a popular Ohio band called Sacred Mushroom.
The band hit the road and began playing gigs constantly, mostly in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. As a result of their heavy schedule, particularly at colleges, their songs became well known, with "Amie" (Craig Fuller’s ode to an on-again/off-again relationship), from the second album, becoming a particular favorite.
A Hit At Last
As "Amie" grew in popularity, radio stations began receiving requests for it. As a result, RCA re-released Bustin Out and issued Amie as a single in late 1974. It peaked at #27 in early 1975.RCA also re-signed PPL and their third album, Two Lane Highway, was released in April 1975, which featured guest appearances by Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, fiddler Johnny Gimble
Johnny Gimble
John Paul Gimble , better known as Johnny Gimble, is an American country musician associated with Western swing. He is an award-winning fiddle player and considered one of the most impressive fiddlers in the genre's history....
, Don Felder
Don Felder
Donald William "Don" Felder is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as lead guitarist for the Eagles from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1994 to 2001.-Early life and influences:...
from The Eagles and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, who dueted with the band on the song "Just Can't Believe It", which received much airplay on country stations. Highway was the band's highest charter(#24) and Bustin Out reached Gold status, but their subsequent records, If the Shoe Fits, Dance, Live, Takin' the Stage and Just Fly, sold in lesser quantities.
In 1977 Call left because of increasing back troubles. Larry Goshorn's brother, Tim, joined in time to record Just Fly. In 1978 there was a mass exodus as the Goshorns left to form their own group, The Goshorn Brothers
Goshorn Brothers
The Goshorn Brothers are a rock musical group made up of Timothy and Lawrence Goshorn currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both brothers were members of the band Pure Prairie League and The Sacred Mushroom.-External links:*...
, and Powell, the last remaining original member, retired from the road to run his pig farm in Ohio.
The group soldiered on as Reilly quickly brought in temporary members, California country rocker Chris Peterson (vocals, guitar) and the group's soundman, Jeff Redefer (guitar), to play a few shows until new permanent players could be located.
In September 1978 auditions found Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
(vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle), who had played with the bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
outfit Mountain Smoke, as well as Boone Creek(with Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
) and the Sundowners(with Byron Berline
Byron Berline
Byron Berline is an American fiddle player.-Biography:Berline started playing the fiddle at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. In 1965, he recorded the album Pickin' and Fiddlin with the Dillards...
). Further auditions brought in LA musician Patrick Bolin(vocals, guitars, flute) in January 1979. This revamped lineup recorded Can't Hold Back, which turned out to be their last for RCA. Sax player Jeff Kirk accompanied the band on some of the dates of their 1979 tour.
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
, who at this time were trying to play down their reputation as a primarily disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
label, signed PPL and other non-dance acts to their roster in 1980. In January guitarist Jeff Wilson came in to replace Bolin and the band's 1980 release Firin' Up spawned the hits "Let Me Love You Tonight
Let Me Love You Tonight
"Let Me Love You Tonight" is a 1980 song by the American pop and country-rock band Pure Prairie League.Taken as the first single from their 1980 album, Firin' Up, "Let Me Love You Tonight" became the band's first song to enter the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number...
" and "I'm Almost Ready" both sung by Gill, with saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
accompaniment by David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
. A second Casablanca release, Something in the Night kept PPL in the charts with "Still Right Here in My Heart". But after Casablanca went bankrupt and was completely sold to Polygram Records, Polygram dropped most of Casablanca's roster, including PPL. Gill left in early 1982 and pursued a hugely successful solo career.
The Later Years
Despite the lack of a recording contract, the group still found itself in demand as a live act and still played at clubs and outdoor fests.Tim Goshorn returned, Mike Hamilton (vocals, guitars, from Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
' band) also joined in 1982 and was there for 6 months, while Al Garth (vocals, woodwinds, fiddle, keyboards), another Loggins alumnus (Loggins & Messina, also Poco
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,...
and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country-folk-rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded...
), joined from 1982-1985.
Longtime drummer Billy Hinds retired from the road in 1984 to be succeeded, first by Merle Bregante (also ex-Loggins & Messina and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), then Joel Rosenblatt (in 1985). Sax player Dan Clawson took over for Garth in 1985, and Gary Burr (vocals, guitars) was there 1984-1985.
1985 also saw the return of PPL co-founder Craig Fuller (who had fronted the groups American Flyer and Fuller/Kaz in the mid-to-late 70s after he'd returned to music). Mementos 1971-1987, released on the small Rushmore label, was recorded back in Ohio, where the band had returned their base, and featured guest appearances from many of the band's alumni, including Gill, Powell, the Goshorns, Call, Burr and Mike Hamilton. In 1988, the band decided to call it a day. Fuller, who had already joined a reformed Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
in 1987, played with PPL for their final shows in the spring of 1988.
Rebirth
A decade later, PPL was back with a lineup of Fuller, Connor, Reilly, Burr, Fats Kaplin (pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, washboard) and Rick Schell (vocals, drums, percussion). After two years, Burr was succeeded by Curtis WrightCurtis Wright
Curtis Blaine Wright is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1989 with the single "She's Got a Man on her Mind" on a branch of MCA Records, before recording a solo album in 1992 on Liberty Records...
(vocals, guitars) in June 2000. The group began work on a new album in 2002, but abandoned the sessions and separated once again after Schell became busy with other projects. Connor died on September 9, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
Following Connor's death, the group resumed touring once more in 2004 with Fuller, Reilly, Schell, Wright and Kaplin (when available) and released All in Good Time in 2005, their first album in 18 years. This release appeared on the small Drifter's Church label.
Since this time, PPL have continued to tour playing a handful of shows every year. Donnie Lee Clark replaced Curtis Wright in 2006 after Wright joined Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
's band. Mike Reilly was sidelined in 2006 after he was forced to undergo a liver transplant. Jack Sundrud (from Poco
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,...
) came in to sub for Reilly, and Rick Plant also did a stint with them on bass briefly before relocating to Australia in late 2006. Jeff "Stick" Davis (from Amazing Rhythm Aces
Amazing Rhythm Aces
The Amazing Rhythm Aces are an American country rock group. The band has characterized their music as "American Music" or "Roots Music" — rock, country, blues, R&B, folk, reggae and Latino...
) sat in on bass for Mike in 2007. Reilly appeared at a few shows in May 2007 playing guitar but was unable to come back full-time until 2008. John David Call played some concerts in 2006 & 2007, standing in for Kaplin, and returned to the band full-time in June 2010.
The band endorses a number of charitable efforts, Pittsburgh's ongoing BurghSTOCK Concert Series among them.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Country | CAN | ||
| 1972 | Pure Prairie League Pure Prairie League (album) Pure Prairie League is the self-titled debut album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1972 .-Track listing:#"Tears" – 2:43#"Take It Before You Go" – 4:05... |
— | — | — |
| Bustin' Out Bustin' Out Bustin' Out is the second album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1972 . It features the hit song "Amie," which is segued into by "Falling In and Out of Love" .... |
34 | — | 24 | |
| 1975 | Two Lane Highway Two Lane Highway Two Lane Highway is the third album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1975 . It features the song "Kansas City Southern," released on Rounder Records "Freight Train Blues: Classic Railroad Songs Vol... |
24 | — | 68 |
| 1976 | If the Shoe Fits If the Shoe Fits If the Shoe Fits is the fourth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1976 .-Track listing:#"That'll Be the Day"... |
33 | — | 89 |
| Dance Dance (Pure Prairie League album) Dance is the fifth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1976.-Side A:#"Dance" – 3:21#"In the Morning" – 3:02#"All the Way" – 3:43... |
99 | 39 | — | |
| 1977 | Takin' the Stage | 68 | 34 | 58 |
| 1978 | Just Fly Just Fly Just Fly is the seventh studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1978 .-Track listing:#"Place in the Middle" #"Slim Pickin's" #"Love Will Grow"... |
79 | — | 70 |
| 1979 | Can't Hold Back | 124 | — | — |
| 1980 | Firin' Up Firin' Up Firin' Up is the ninth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1980 . "Let Me Love You Tonight" is the band's biggest pop hit, peaking at number ten on the Billboard singles chart.-Track listing:... |
37 | — | 78 |
| 1981 | Something in the Night Something in the Night Something in the Night is the tenth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1981 .-Track listing:#"Don't Keep Me Hangin'" - 3:45#"Love Me Again" - 2:50... |
72 | — | — |
| 1987 | Mementos | — | — | — |
| 2005 | All in Good Time | — | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN | CAN AC | |||
| 1973 | "Amie" | 27 | — | — | 40 | 19 | Bustin' Out |
| 1975 | "Two Lane Highway" | 97 | — | — | — | — | Two Lane Highway |
| 1976 | "That'll Be the Day That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison and recorded by various artists including The Crickets and Linda Ronstadt. It was also the first song to be recorded by The Quarrymen, the skiffle group that subsequently became The Beatles... " |
106 | — | 96 | — | — | If the Shoe Fits |
| 1980 | "I Can't Stop the Feelin'" | 77 | — | — | — | — | Firin' Up |
| "I'm Almost Ready" | 34 | 10 | — | — | — | Firin' Up | |
| "Let Me Love You Tonight Let Me Love You Tonight "Let Me Love You Tonight" is a 1980 song by the American pop and country-rock band Pure Prairie League.Taken as the first single from their 1980 album, Firin' Up, "Let Me Love You Tonight" became the band's first song to enter the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number... " |
10 | 1 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 1981 | "Still Right Here in My Heart" | 28 | 4 | — | — | — | Something in the Night |
| "You're Mine Tonight" | 68 | — | — | — | 21 | ||