Poco is a Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay, Jim Messina and Rusty Young. Formed following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968, Poco was part of the first wave of the West Coast country rock genre. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Throughout the years Poco has performed in various groupings, and was still active as of late 2013.
During recording of Buffalo Springfield's third and final album, Last Time Around, lead singers Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay each recorded songs without the other members present. One of Furay's solo efforts was the country-influenced ballad "Kind Woman", which he recorded with the help of producer/engineer/bassist Jim Messina and pedal steel guitarist Rusty Young. When Buffalo Springfield split up, Furay, Messina and Young decided to start their own group oriented toward such songs. (Read more at Wikipedia.)
Links to Peel[]
Peel had introduced Buffalo Springfield at a concert in San Bernardino in the spring of 1966, while he was working as a DJ at KMEN. He had played tracks by the band on the station, and later, after his return to Britain on Radio London and Top Gear. The Springfield were one of the more highly-regarded of the West Coast bands he favoured, so after their breakup he showed an interest in the work of the band's three lead singers - including Richie Furay's band Poco. The DJ played tracks from the band's early albums, but these were commercially unsuccessful and the band went through frequent personnel changes.
Poco - Rose Of Cimarron-0
Peel's favourite Poco track, and one of his all-time favourites, came from a later stage in the band's career; the title song of the band's 1976 LP Rose of Cimarron. He played it frequently on his 1976 programmes and it was number 11 in the Festive Fifty of that year. The track was also a favourite of Peel's wife Sheila, and he chose it for the final episode of Peeling Back The Years in 1987, as an example of the tracks they would listen to at home together:
.....things which we can associate with things like a walk in the Black Forest, you know. That’s a cue for a song in itself. Things we associate with holidays or gigs that we went to. I suppose something that would be fairly typical of that would be something like Poco’s Rose Of Cimarron.
Although he did not revisit it in his later programmes, he still had enough regard for Poco's music to include a track from their first album in a 2001 show.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1976 Festive Fifty: Rose Of Cimarron #11
Sessions[]
- None.
Other Shows Played[]
- 1970
- 06 June 1970: Hurry Up (LP - Poco) Epic BN 26522 (US release)
- 20 June 1970 : You Better Think Twice (LP - Poco) Epic BN 26522 (US release)
- 11 July 1970: Hurry Up (LP - Poco) Epic BN 26522 (US release)
- 1971
- 27 March 1971: C'Mon (album - Deliverin') Epic S 64204
- 08 May 1971: Medley: Hard Luck (album - Deliverin') Epic S 64204
- 1973
- 11 October 1973: Blue Water (LP - Crazy Eyes) Epic
- 1974
- 06 June 1974: Drivin' Wheel (LP - Poco Seven) Epic
- 1975
- 30 September 1975: Makin' Love (LP - Head Over Heels) ABC
- 1976
- 15 March 1976: tracks from Poco Live LP (Epic)
- 29 March 1976: Ride The Country (LP - Live) Epic
- 05 May 1976: Rose of Cimarron (LP-Rose Of Cimarron) (ABC)
- 20 July 1976: Rose of Cimarron
- 03 September 1976: Rose Of Cimarron (7") ABC
- 07 September 1976: Rose of Cimarron
- 10 September 1976: Rose of Cimarron
- 21 September 1976: Rose of Cimarron
- 30 December 1976: Rose Of Cimarron (LP-Rose Of Cimarron)' (ABC) FF#11 (JP: "Ah, what a marvellous record that is...One of very few records from 1976 to get into the Festive Fifty.")
- 1977
- 12 April 1977: Indian Summer (LP - Indian Summer) ABC
- 12 April 1977: Twenty Years (LP - Indian Summer) ABC
- 12 April 1977: Win Or Lose (LP - Indian Summer) ABC
- 16 May 1977: Downfall (album - Indian Summer) ABC AB-989
- 16 May 1977: Living In The Band (album - Indian Summer) ABC AB-989
- 16 May 1977: Stay (Night Until Noon) (album - Indian Summer) ABC AB-989
- 26 July 1977: Rose of Cimarron
- 1978
- 04 August 1978: 'Rose Of Cimarron (LP-Rose Of Cimarron)' (ABC)
- 04 December 1978: Little Darlin' (LP - Legend) ABC
- 26 December 1978: Rose Of Cimarron (LP - Rose of Cimarron) ABC (JP: 'Boasts one of the great guitar solos of all time.')
- 1979
- 01 February 1979 (Paul Gambaccini): Crazy Love (7") ABC ABC 4240
- 1987
- 24 February 1987: Just In Case It Happens, Yes Indeed (LP - Pickin' Up The Pieces) Epic
- 2001
- 18 April 2001 : Honky Tonk Downstairs (LP - Poco) Epic
- Other
- Peeling Back The Years: Rose Of Cimarron (LP-Rose Of Cimarron) (ABC)