Poco - Biography

Country-Rock pioneer band Poco rose from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield when band members Richard Furay, Rusty Young and Jim Messina decided to launch their new band with the addition of George Grantham on drums and Randy Meisner on bass. The year was 1969 and the group truly had the ingredients for super group status.

Both Young and Grantham had been part of the Denver group The Boenzee Cryque and Meisner came through Colorado to first join up with The Poor in Denver who’s lineup included members of Denver’s Soul Survivors and The Moonrakers. Rusty was born in California and made his way to Denver at a very young age. George was an Oklahoma native.

Rusty Young established himself as one of the premier pedal steel players in the U.S. He attended Junior High School at Rishel in West Denver and then went on to attend Denver South High School. Rusty was a classmate of mine at Rishel and was an extremely likable and popular student leader. Always smiling with a great sense of humor, he was a pleasure to be around. I didn’t have any idea that Rusty had musical talents at that point.

I had a very brief brush with drummer George Grantham in 1967. My then girlfriend (and future wife) was returning from a trip with two of her best friends from Hawaii. One of them, Beverly, was dating George at the time. This was before security screenings and so both George and I were waiting for the girls to de-plane at Denver’s then airport – Stapleton. He was a member of Boenzee Cryque at that time. I don’t believe we spoke a word to each other, but why would we because we didn’t know each other. Beverly briefly introduced us and that was that. Next thing I knew he moved on to rejoin Rusty in Poco!

The group experienced so many line-up changes with past members rejoining then moving on again – that it scrambles the mind to read about it. Two other big time members were Timothy Schmidt and Paul Cotton. Rusty however was the constant – never departing and continuing for 45 unbroken years. George Grantham returned often to lend his support and at one point was part of an original Poco lineup reunification. Rusty retired in 2013. George had earlier experienced a rather severe stroke which sidelined him for a significant amount of time.

Richard Furay has strong connections to Colorado – moving into the State after his Poco Day’s were open – living in the Boulder area. He would eventually become a minister at Calvary Chapel in Broomfield Colorado and recorded a gospel LP on that label. I also believe he recorded in another non-denominational church studio just two blocks from my home in Wheat Ridge, Colorado – The Crossroads Church. He would move back and forth during his Colorado stay between gospel music, and reuniting on occasion with Buffalo Springfield, The Richard Furay Band and Poco.

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