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. Although Pure Prairie League weren't given quite the amount of attention they deserved, the music they produced befriended fans of both country and AOR.When Pure Prairie League formed in the late 1960s, no one had put a label on the music they played. Mike Reilly sings the Buddy Holly classic "That'll Be The Day" with a modest country feel, and even the semi-edgy "Don't Keep Me Hangin" holds up well amidst the other more countrified tracks on this best-of. Other stand-outs on this 14 song compilation include the number 34 hit "I'm Almost Ready" and the sincere sounding "Still Right Here In My Heart," with its timeless chorus and free-range melody.
"Amie," their first Top 40 entry, sung by Craig Fuller, kicks off this album and represents the early stages of the band's career with its light, breezy sound. This collection of their best material is a superb rundown of all their hits, with an extra two bonus tracks at the end. Sounding slightly more country than rock, Pure Prarie League's music gained popularity by churning out jangly guitar strummed tunes that imitated the Eagles recipe of sturdy country love songs. Their highest charted single, "Let Me Love You Tonight" at number ten in 1980, was where country superstar Vince Gill began singing lead for the band and was their third vocalist.
As one of country-rock's most appealing groups, Pure Prairie League contributed to the late-'70s and early-'80 era of musical interbreeding which made them firm FM radio staples, as well as country music mainstays.