Poco is an American country rock band that was formed in 1968 by Rusty Young, Jim Messina, Richie Furay, George Grantham, and Randy Meisner. The band's sound blended elements of country and rock music, and they were influential in the development of the country rock genre.

Poco's debut album, "Pickin' Up the Pieces," was released in 1969 and featured the hit single "You Better Think Twice." Over the years, the band underwent several lineup changes, with members leaving to pursue solo careers or join other bands. Some notable musicians who have been a part of Poco at various times include Timothy B. Schmit (who later joined the Eagles), Paul Cotton, and Jeff Cotton.

Poco's most successful period was in the 1970s, when they released several critically acclaimed albums, including "From the Inside," "A Good Feelin' to Know," and "Crazy Eyes." During this time, the band's sound evolved to incorporate elements of country, rock, and pop music, and they scored several hit singles, including "Crazy Love," "Heart of the Night," and "Call It Love."

Despite experiencing numerous lineup changes over the years, Poco has continued to tour and record new music. The band has released over 20 studio albums and has been cited as an influence by numerous country and rock musicians.

Poco is one of the most underrated of the country rock bands, arising from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Their original name was Pogo, but they changed their name to Poco because of a lawsuit.  Richie Furay and Jim Messina were the driving force in starting Poco. The idea to start a country rock group after Buffalo Springfield ended came together during work on Buffalo Springfield's last album "Last Time Around" when they decided to use a steel guitar on one of the songs. Rusty Young played on "Kind Woman" (considered to be the first Poco song).  Thanks to Ken Slater for keeping me straight on various personnel changes in the 80s, 90s, and beyond.; and thanks to Robert Warner for helping with miscellaneous corrections.  Most of all...Thanks to Poco for all the great music! -GSH

• Richie Furay - guitar/vocals - b. Paul Richard Furay, May 9, 1944, Yellow Springs (Dayton), Ohio. 
• Jim Messina - lead guitar/bass/vocals - b. James Messina, December 5, 1947, Maywood, California - formerly with Buffalo Springfield.
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals - b. Norman Russell Young, February 23, 1946, Long Beach, California - formerly with Denver band Boenzee Cryque.
• George Grantham - drums/vocals - b. November 20, 1947, Cordell, Oklahoma - formerly with Denver band Boenzee Cryque.
• Randy Meisner - bass/vocals - b. Randall Meisner, March 8, 1946, Scottsbluff, Nebraska - formerly with local Scottsbluff band The Poor.

1. "Pickin' Up the Pieces" (1969) - Single: "Pickin' Up the Pieces"

• Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
• Jim Messina - guitar/bass/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals
• Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals - b. October 30, 1947, Sacramento, California - formerly with New Breed / Redwing.

1. "Poco" (1970)
2. "Deliverin'" (live) (1971)

• Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals - b. Norman Paul Cotton, February 26, 1943, Los Angeles, California - formerly with The Capitols, The Mus-twangs, The Gentrys, The Rovin' Kind, and The Illinois Speed Press (duo with Kal David).
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals

1. "From the Inside" (1971)
2. "A Good Feelin' To Know" (1972)
3. "From the Inside / A Good Feelin' to Know" (2-fer) (1999)
4. "Crazy Eyes" (1973)

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Timothy B. Schmit - bass/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals

1. "Poco Seven" (1974)
2. "Cantamos" (1974)
3. "Head Over Heels" (1975)
4. "Poco Live" (1975)
5. "Rose of Cimarron" (1976)
6. "Indian Summer" (1977)
7. "The Last Roundup" (live) (2004)
   

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Steve Chapman - drums - Born in England.
• Charlie Harrison - bass/vocals - Born in England.

1. "Legend" (1978)

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Kim Bullard - keyboards/vocals - b. Atlanta, Georgia.
• Steve Chapman - drums
• Charlie Harrison - bass/vocals

1. "Under the Gun" (1980)
2. "Blue and Gray" (1981)
3. "Cowboys & Englishmen" (1982)
4. "Ghost Town" (1982)

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/vocals
• Kim Bullard - keyboards/vocals
• Steve Chapman - drums

1. "Inamorato" (1984)
2. "Ghost Town / Inamorato" (2-fer) (1995)

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals
• Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/guitar/dobro/vocals
• Steve Chapman - drums
• Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals

• Richie Furay - guitar/vocals
• Jim Messina - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Randy Meisner - bass/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals

1. "Legacy" (1989)

• Jim Messina - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Randy Meisner - bass/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals
• Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals

• Jim Messina - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Randy Meisner - bass/vocals
• Gary Mallabar - drums

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• Richard Neville - bass
• Tim Smith - drums/percussion

• Paul Cotton - lead guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - pedal steel/dobro/banjo/vocals
• George Grantham - drums/vocals
• Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals

1. "Running Horse" (2002)
2. "Keeping The Legend Alive" (live) (2004) - CD with bonus DVD of the concert.  Recorded in Nashville during 2004, and Richie Furay makes a guest appearance.  For Poco fans, it doesn't get much better than this.  The DVD includes interviews with the band.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

• Paul Cotton - guitar/vocals
• Rusty Young - guitar/lap, slide, and steel guitar/dobro/mandolin/vocals
• Jack Sundrud - bass/vocals
• George Lawrence - percussion
  

1. "Bareback At Big Sky" (live) (2005) - Poco's first "unplugged" (mostly acoustic) album, recorded live April 20-21, 2005, before a studio audience in Bozeman, Montana.  Great musicianship all around, wonderful harmonies (hey, it's Poco!!!), and a very nice selection of mostly recent songs highlight this CD.  Among the older tunes, I really liked the rockin' acoustic version of "Under The Gun".  The inclusion of the Buffalo Springfield tune "On The Way Home" as the finale is a real treat.
   

1. "The Very Best of Poco" (1975)
2. "Crazy Lovin': The Best of Poco 1975-1982"
3. "Backtracks" (1982)
4. "The Forgotten Trail (1969-74)" (2-CDs) (1990)
5. "On the Country Side" (1996)
6. "The Ultimate Collection" (1998)
7. "The Very Best Of Poco" (1999) - Different compilation from 1975 album with the same name.
   
8. "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Poco" (2000)
   

1. "Changing Horses" (1990)
2. "Firebird" (2000)
3. "When The Coast Is Clear" (2005)
   

1. "Playin' It Cool" (1984)
2. "Timothy B." (1987)
3. "Tell Me The Truth" (1990)
4. "Feed The Fire" (2001)
   

I love this band...so much that I acquired the nickname "Poco" from several close friends during the '70s.  Personal favorites are their early live album "Deliverin'" and "Cantamos".  However, if you're only going to buy one Poco album, buy the compilation "The Forgotten Trail (1969-74)"; it includes most of their classic songs along with several unreleased cuts and alternate versions --- A GREAT SET!

• POCO - The Official Web Site
  
• Richie Furay Online
• Timothy B. Schmit - Official Site
• Paul Cotton - Official Site
  
• Poco Home Page - Absolutely the best information about Poco on the WWW!
• Poco Legacy Home Page (Mike Edmunds)
• Poco Page - Australia - Home of the Cantamos Mailing List...get connected!
• Poco Links
• Paul Cotton Page
• Rusty Young Links
• "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" - by John Einarson; published by Cooper Square Press - Let me say right up front that I have been a big fan of country rock music ever since hearing the "Pickin' Up The Pieces" single from Poco's debut album.  Poco has remained a favorite of mine through the years, although I always believed they were overlooked as a significant influence on popular music into the 1970s and the "new country" movement in the 1990s.  Thankfully, this oversight is corrected by John Einarson in his book, "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock", which traces the history of country rock's rise in Southern California from the early days in the late 1960s up to The Eagles (unquestionably the most commercially-viable country rock band of all time).  Having previously read one of Mr. Einarson's biographies on The Guess Who, I was anxious to see how he approached my favorite type of music...I was not disappointed.  "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is an intricate tale of musicians struggling to be heard amidst the psychedelic and hard-rock sounds flooding the airwaves at the time...and these early country rockers did make themselves heard...The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, Clarence White, The Eagles, Michael Nesmith (remember The Monkees?...Nesmith made some great country rock music after that gig was over), The Dillards, Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band, The Dillard and Clark Expedition, Linda Ronstadt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...the list could go on and on.  This book covers the early days of country rock from it's beginnings in the late 1960s to the tragic year of 1973 (when the music world lost two country rock pioneers: guitarist-extraordinaire Clarence White and Gram Parsons) and examines the influence this music has had on second-generation country rock bands such as Pure Prairie League and Firefall.  In addition, the impact of these early country rockers on the "new country" music of the 1980s and the "alternative country" movement of the late-1990s and beyond is explored from a "roots" perspective.  This is a tale masterfully woven by Mr. Einarson, based on more than 60 exclusive interviews with the originators and innovators of country rock.  The amount of information and level of detail contained in these 288 pages is astounding, and there are 31 black and white photographs (some of which I've never seen before).  The only improvement that I would recommend is the inclusion of a comprehensive index in the next edition (this would really help in finding information on specific artists).  Even though I've been following country rock music for years, I learned a lot from this book.  The quotes gleaned from Mr. Einarson's interviews during research for this book are particularly helpful in understanding the origin and development of country rock. "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is required reading for all fans of country rock or anyone interested in late-1960s to early-1970s music. Highly recommended.
• jed - This is a new band featuring Jeddrah Schmit, the daughter of Timothy B. Schmit.  Take a look at their website...they have just completed their first CD release, "If These Shoes Could Talk".  I believe Dad sings backup on a couple of tracks and helped with the production.  They have a couple of tunes which can be downloaded in MP3 format, and they sound pretty interesting and fresh....check 'em out!