Tonight, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame will induct four acts that arguably made their biggest mark on the music world during the 1970s -- Poco, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Firefall and Stephen Stills, along with his side project Manassas. The groups will be honored during a ceremony at the Paramount Theater in Denver that will feature several special performances, including partial reunions of some of the inductees. The event also will feature video presentations paying tribute to the bands and an appearance of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Poco formed in 1968 in Los Angeles, and originally featured ex-Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina, as well as pedal-steel guitarist Rusty Young, drummer George Grantham and future Eagles bassist Randy Meisner. After a couple of lineup changes, including the replacement of Meisner by Timothy B. Schmit -- who later also replaced Randy in the Eagles -- Poco moved to Colorado. Furay, Schmit and Young, along with longtime Poco singer/guitarist Paul Cotton, all will perform during the induction ceremony. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band also moved from L.A. to Colorado early in its career. The group is best-known for its hit 1970 cover of Jerry Jeff Walkers Mr. Bojangles and the star-studded collaborative 1972 country-folk tribute album Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands current lineup, which features founding members Jeff Hanna, John McEuen and Jimmie Fadden, will play at the Hall of Fame event. Firefall was a soft-rock act that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974, and whose original lineup included late Byrds drummer Michael Clarke. The bands big hits include 1976s You Are the Women and 1977s Just Remember I Love You. Surviving original members Rick Roberts, Jock Bartley, Mark Andes, Larry Burnett and David Muse will perform together at the induction ceremony. Stills formed Manassas in 1971, after his supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash had gone on an indefinite hiatus. The band, which also featured founding Byrds bassist Chris Hillman, recorded two albums before disbanding in 1973. During this time, Stills wrote a lot of songs in Colorado. He also did quite a bit of solo recording at the famous Caribou Ranch studio near Boulder. To honor Manassas, Pocos Furay, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands Hanna and Firefalls Bartley will team up for a tribute performance. The Colorado Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony also will include a rousing finale featuring an all-star jam. For more information, visit CMHOF.org
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 13:20:22 +0000