Song of the Day 10/16: Poco, “A Good Feelin’ to Know”

Buffalo Springfield had three guitarists who were also singers and songwriters. Stephen Stills and Neil Young found greater fame after the group disbanded, but Richie Furay, who had the best voice of the three, never managed to break through to success or fame. He and Jim Messina, Buffalo Springfield’s replacement bassist and frequent producer, hooked up with pedal steel player Rusty Young to form Poco — cartoonist Walt Kelly threatened a lawsuit when they tried to call themselves Pogo — one of the first wave of California country-rock bands at the end of the ’60s.

After two critically acclaimed albums that sold poorly and a live album of new material that did slightly better, Messina left, replaced on bass by Timothy B. Schmit. Another LP, produced by Steve Cropper, also stiffed, and by 1972 Furay was desperate for a hit. “A Good Feelin’ to Know,” already a concert highlight, was chosen as the first single from the same-titled album, which had a heavier rock component than earlier efforts. With its interplay between Young’s steel guitar and Paul Cotton’s lead, it sounded great coming out of a car radio, yet it failed to even reach the charts at a time when mellowness ruled the airwaves.

After one more LP, Furay threw in the towel and left to join the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. Poco finally scored a couple of hits in 1979 with “Crazy Love” and “Heart of the Night,” but by then Rusty Young was the only original member. In 1983 Furay retired from touring to become a Christian minister in Colorado, and though he has returned to music from time to time in the years since, he never had a hit record.