Formed in 1971, this US country rock group comprised Craig Lee Fuller (vocals/guitar), George Powell (vocals/guitar), John Call (pedal steel guitar), Jim Lanham (bass) and Jim Caughlin (drums). Their self-titled debut album was a strong effort, and included the excellent ‘Tears’, ‘You’re Between Me’ (a tribute to McKendree Spring) and ‘It’s All On Me’. The work also featured some novel sleeve artwork, using Norman Rockwell’s portrait of an ageing cowboy as a symbol of the Old West. On Pure Prairie League, the figure was seen wistfully clutching a record titled ‘Dreams Of Long Ago’. For successive albums, the cowboy would be portrayed being ejected from a saloon, stranded in a desert and struggling with a pair of boots. The image effectively gave Pure Prairie League a brand name, but by the time of Bustin’ Out, Fuller and Powell were left to run the group using session musicians. This album proved their masterwork, one of the best and most underrated records produced in country rock. Its originality lay in the use of string arrangements, for which they recruited the services of former David Bowie acolyte Mick Ronson. His work was particularly effective on the expansive ‘Boulder Skies’ and ‘Call Me Tell Me’. A single from the album, ‘Amie’, was a US hit and prompted the return of John Call, but when Fuller left in 1975 to form American Flyer, the group lost its major writing talent and inspiration. Powell continued with bass player Mike Reilly, lead guitarist Larry Goshorn and pianist Michael O’Connor. Several minor albums followed and the group achieved a surprise US Top 10 hit in 1980 with ‘Let Me Love You Tonight’. Fuller joined with Little Feat, while latter-day guitarist Vince Gill, who joined Pure Prairie League in 1979, has become a superstar in the country market in the 90s. At the end of the 90s Fuller had returned and was performing with O’Connor, Gerry House, Reilly and songwriter Gary Burr.
