Pure Prairie League

Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band which featured in its original lineup singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail and steel guitarist John David Call, all from Waverly, Ohio. Fuller started the band in 1970 and McGrail named it after a fictional 19th century temperance union featured in the 1939 Errol Flynn cowboy film Dodge City. In 1975 the band scored its biggest hit with the single "Amie", a track that originally appeared on their 1972 album Bustin' Out. Pure Prairie League scored five consecutive Top 40 LPs in the 1970s and added a sixth in the 1980s. They disbanded in 1988 but regrouped in 1998 and continue to perform. The line-up has been fluid over the years, with no one member having served over the band's entire history. The band's most recent line-up consists of multi-instrumentalist John Heinrich, drummer Scott Thompson, keyboardist/guitarist Randy Harper, guitarist Jeff Zona and bassist Jared Camic. Other notable musicians to have played with Pure Prairie League include guitarists Vince Gill, Gary Burr and Curtis Wright.

History

The band was formed in Columbus, Ohio in 1970 and had its first success in Cincinnati. Craig Fuller, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call had played together in various bands since high school, notably the Vikings, the Omars, the Sacred Turnips and the Swiss Navy.

In 1970 the first Pure Prairie League line-up was Fuller, McGrail, singer/songwriter/guitarist George Ed Powell (a popular Cincinnati folk singer), Phill Stokes (bassist in Columbus bands Sanhedrin Move and J.D. Blackfoot) and Robin Suskind (a popular guitar teacher in the University of Cincinnati neighborhood) on guitar and mandola, with John David Call joining the band later that year. Call's steel guitar added country credibility to the band's playlist and sparked guitar duels with Fuller that created the signature sound of the band. They rose to popularity as the house band at New Dilly's Pub in the Mt. Adams section of Cincinnati.

In mid-1971, McGrail and Stokes left the band to rehearse with , but were unable to put a viable band together. Jim Caughlan, who had played guitar and drums with Fuller, Call and McGrail in earlier bands, took over on drums, and Jim Lanham from California, formerly of The Yellow Payges and Country Funk, replaced Stokes on bass. Suskind departed as well, soon after the arrival of Caughlan and Lanham.

Early on, Pure Prairie League was looking for national artist representation and made contact with rock promoter Roger Abramson, who was based in Cleveland. At the behest of the group's roadie Jim Westermeyer (who had also worked for the James Gang), Abramson saw the band at New Dilly's Pub and later signed them to a management contract. Abramson was able to land them a contract with RCA Records. He then placed Pure Prairie League as an opening act on many of the concerts he produced at that time.

Their self-titled first album used a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover, showing a trail-worn cowboy named Sad Luke, who would appear on the cover of every Pure Prairie League recording thereafter.

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Shortly after touring behind Bustin Out, the group returned to Ohio and Fuller had to face trial for charges of draft evasion in Kentucky. But before conscientious objector (C.O.) status could be arranged, he was sentenced to six months in jail and forced to leave Pure Prairie League 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 that time. (He was eventually given a full pardon by President Gerald Ford.) Reilly took over as the band's leader and front man and brought in his friend Larry Goshorn (vocals, guitars) to replace Fuller in November 1973. Goshorn had played in a popular Ohio band called the Sacred Mushroom.

Pure Prairie League hit the road and began playing gigs constantly, mostly in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast. As Reilly related above, as a result of their heavy schedule, particularly at colleges, their songs became well known; "Amie" (Craig Fuller's ode to an on-again/off-again relationship), from the second album, became a particular favorite.

Success

As "Amie" grew in popularity, radio stations began receiving requests for it. As a result, RCA re-released the Bustin' Out and Pure Prairie League albums and re-issued "Amie" as a single. It peaked at No. 27 on April 26, 1975, just as a minor bluegrass revival was underway on mid-western college campuses.

RCA re-signed Pure Prairie League, who relocated to Los Angeles and recorded their third album, Two Lane Highway, which was released in June 1975. They were not unfamiliar with Gill as, according to band member Michael Reilly, “We had seen him play in 1976 when the band he was playing with opened up for us in Oklahoma City”, remarks Reilly. “We offered him the gig then, but he said, 'Oh no, I’m playing bluegrass'”. The 1978 audition led to an immediate job offer and acceptance.

Further auditions brought in Steven Patrick Bolin (vocals, guitars, flute) in January 1979. Following Connor's death, the group resumed touring once again with Fuller, Reilly, Schell, Wright and Kaplin (when available) and released All in Good Time in November 2005.

In 2018 the group added additional member Randy Harper on vocals, guitar and keyboards.

Tim Goshorn's brother Larry, who had played with Pure Prairie League from 1973 to 1978, also fell victim to cancer and died on September 14, 2021.

In 2021 long time bassist Mike Reilly retired from the road due to health issues and fifteen year veteran Donnie Lee Clark departed as well, paving the way for new members Jared Camic (vocals, bass) and Jeff Zona (vocals, guitar). Reilly did return briefly in February 2022 as a special guest on the Rock Legends Cruise.

In December 2024 Pure Prairie League released Back on Track, their first album in almost two decades.

John David Call retired from the road once again at the close of 2024 and John Heinrich (steel guitars, saxophones), who had played with Ronnie Milsap for many years, joined PPL in early 2025.

The band endorses a number of charitable efforts, Pittsburgh's ongoing BurghSTOCK Concert Series among them.

Members

Current

Scott Thompson — vocals, drums, percussion (2011–present)
Randy Harper - vocals, keyboards, guitar (2018–present)
Jared Camic - vocals, bass (2021–present)
Jeff Zona - vocals, guitar (2021–present)
John Heinrich - steel guitars, saxophones (2025–present)

Former

Craig Fuller - vocals, lead guitar, bass (1970–1973, 1985–1988, 1998–2002, 2004–2012)
Tom McGrail — drums (1970—1971)
John David Call — pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro (1970–1972, 1973–1977, 2010–2024; guest 2006–2007)
George Ed Powell — vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar (1970—1978; occasional guest at Ohio shows since 1998)
Robin Suskind — guitar, mandola (1970–1971)
Phill Stokes — bass (1970—1971)
Jim Caughlan — drums, guitar (1971—1972)
Jim Lanham — bass, backing vocals (1971–1972)
Billy Hinds — drums, percussion (1972–1984)
Michael Reilly - vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin (1972–1988, 1998–2021)
Michael Connor — piano, keyboards, synthesizers (1972–1988, 1998–2004; died 2004)
Larry Goshorn — vocals, guitars (1973–1978; died 2021)
Tim Goshorn - vocals, guitar (1977–1978, 1982—1988; died 2017)
Vince Gill – vocals, guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, violin (1978–1982)
Steven Patrick Bolin — vocals, guitars, flute (1979–1980)
Mike Hamilton — vocals, guitars (1982 & 1987)
Al Garth — vocals, saxophone, woodwinds, fiddle, keyboards (1982—1985)
Merel Bregante — drums (1984–1985)
Gary Burr - vocals, guitars (1984–1985, 1998–2000)
Joel Rosenblatt — drums (1985–1986)
Dan Clawson — saxophone (1985–1988)
Steve Speelman — drums (1986–1988)
Rick Schell - vocals, drums, percussion (1998–2012)
Jeff Wilson — guitars (1980–1982)
Fats Kaplin — pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, washboard (1998–2010)
Curtis Wright - vocals, guitars (2000–2006)
Donnie Lee Clark - vocals, guitars (2006–2021)

Temporary and touring

Chris Peterson — vocals, guitar (1978)
Jeff Redefer - guitar (1978)
Jeff Kirk — saxophone (1979)
Jack Sundrud – bass (2006)
Rick Plant - bass (2006)
Jeff Davis – bass (2007)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album

! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:45px;"| US

! style="width:45px;"| US Country

! style="width:45px;"| CAN

| rowspan="2"| 1972

| style="text-align:left;"| Pure Prairie League

| —

| style="text-align:left;"| Bustin' Out

| 34

| —

| 24

| 1975

| style="text-align:left;"| Two Lane Highway

| 24

| —

| 68

| rowspan="2"| 1976

| style="text-align:left;"| If the Shoe Fits

| 33

| —

| 89

| style="text-align:left;"| Dance

| 99

| 39

| —

| 1977

| style="text-align:left;"| Live, Takin' the Stage

| 68

| 34

| 58

| 1978

| style="text-align:left;"| Just Fly

| 79

| —

| 70

| 1979

| style="text-align:left;"| Can't Hold Back

| 124

| —

| 1980

| style="text-align:left;"| Firin' Up

| 37

| —

| 78

| 1981

| style="text-align:left;"| Something in the Night

| 72

| —

| 1987

| style="text-align:left;"| Mementos 1971-1987 (re-recordings)

| —

| 1995

| style="text-align:left;"| Best Of (Casablanca)

| —

| 1998

| style="text-align:left;"| Greatest Hits (RCA)

| —

| 2005

| style="text-align:left;"| All in Good Time...

| —

|2024

| style="text-align:left;"| Back on Track

|—

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

! style="width:45px;"| US

! style="width:45px;"| US AC

! style="width:45px;"| US Country

! style="width:45px;"| CAN

! style="width:45px;"| CAN AC

| 1975

| "Amie" (released as studio edit in 1975)

| style="text-align:center;"| 27

| style="text-align:center;"| 20

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 40

| style="text-align:center;"| 19

| Bustin' Out

| 1975

| "Two Lane Highway"

| style="text-align:center;"| 97

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| Two Lane Highway

| 1976

| "That'll Be the Day"

| style="text-align:center;"| 106

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 96

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| If the Shoe Fits

| rowspan="3"| 1980

| "Let Me Love You Tonight"

| style="text-align:center;"| 10

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 14

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

|rowspan=3|Firin' Up

| "I'm Almost Ready"

| style="text-align:center;"| 34

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| "I Can't Stop the Feelin'"

| style="text-align:center;"| 77

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| rowspan="2"| 1981

| "Still Right Here in My Heart"

| style="text-align:center;"| 28

| style="text-align:center;"| 4

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| rowspan="2"| Something in the Night

| "You're Mine Tonight"

| style="text-align:center;"| 68

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 21

References

External links

Pure Prairie Band Booking Information - GigMasters