| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover by Phil Hartman | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1978 | |||
| Recorded | April–August 1978 | |||
| Studio | Crystal Sound Studios (Hollywood, California); The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, California). | |||
| Genre | Country rock | |||
| Length | 37:54 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Producer | Richard Sanford Orshoff | |||
| Poco chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Legend | ||||
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Legend is the eleventh studio album by the American country rock band Poco, released in 1978.
After ABC Records canceled the 1977 release of Poco's planned 13th album: the live set The Last Roundup , the three remaining members of the band: Rusty Young, Paul Cotton and George Grantham, agreed to the suspension of Poco as a recording or performing outfit. By 1978 Young, a founding member of Poco from 1968, and Cotton, with Poco since 1970, had decided to launch as essentially a duo act, ABC Records greenlighting the recording of the intended debut album of the Cotton-Young Band. Although Poco had self-produced the group's six studio album releases plus one live album release between 1974 and 1977, Cotton and Young elected to have the Cotton-Young Band sessions - recorded in the summer of 1978 at Crystal Sound Studio in Hollywood - overseen by Richard Sanford Orshoff, feeling an "outside" producer dealing with the recording process and with ABC Records would allow Cotton and Young to focus strictly on their songs. Young and Cotton also deferred to Orshoff in regards to which songs proffered for the album were actually recorded and included on it, Orshoff nixing some bluegrass songs composed by Rusty Young which (Rusty Young quote:)"would probably have...made the album too country ...for the pop market." [1]
November 1978 saw the release of the Cotton-Young Band recordings as Legend the eleventh studio album by Poco, ABC having decided to continue the "brand" of Cotton and Young's supposedly defunct outfit, two sidemen from the Cotton-Young Band sessions: drummer Steve Chapman and bassist Charlie Harrison, being afforded tenure in a new Poco lineup (and veteran Poco drummer George Grantham thus being ousted from the group):[ citation needed ] shortly after the release of Legend, Kim Bullard was recruited as keyboardist in Poco's new lineup (Legend had featured session keyboardist Tom Stephenson).
After spending eight weeks in the lower half of the Billboard 200 album chart, Legend was afforded a boost with the release in mid-January 1979 of the track "Crazy Love" as a single which debuted at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 20 January 1979 and rose into the Top 40 within four weeks. "Crazy Love" was to eventually stall at number 17 [2] but the cachet of generating a Top 40 hit - Poco's first - was enough to propel the Legend album into the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. Peaking at number 14 on the Billboard 200 dated 7 April 1979, [3] Legend would the next week be certified as a Gold record for sales of 500,000 units: [4] according to Rusty Young, sales for Poco's precedent albums had typically hovered between 200,000 and 300,000 units. The breakout success of Legend was attributed by some to the efforts of ABC's promotional staff to prove their value to MCA Records who absorbed ABC in February 1979. An alternate contention is that Legend and its "Crazy Love" single began breaking-out prior to ABC's takeover by MCA, the latter label taking a counter-productive disinterest in Poco: ( LA Times 27 April 1979 quote from "a source close to ABC":) "[Poco]'s sales would be better now if that change [ie. ABC's takeover by MCA] hadn't happened. Poco's records really suffered. Those guys are hexed." [1]
Legend would also generate a second Top 20 hit: "Heart of the Night", written and sung by Paul Cotton, meaning that Legend afforded both of Poco's veteran members a hit single, "Crazy Love" being written and sung by Rusty Young: the title track - another Rusty Young number - would prove a Hot 100 shortfall as a third single release. [5]
The cover art for Legend was done by Phil Hartman, the brother of Poco manager John Hartmann; Phil Hartman worked as a graphic designer creating album covers for his brother's clients (including America) while attempting to break out as a comic. [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Contemporary reviews of Legend typically noted how the album evinced the shedding of Poco's country rock provenance: The Philadelphia Inquirer considered that Poco had shifted "emphasis to an extremely tasty straight-on pop-rock, nicely executed with strong vocals and pretty harmonies." [10] Stuart Goldman of the Los Angeles Times was less enamored of the band's new direction: "The songs on 'Legend' are well crafted. The hooks are strong and the guitar breaks concise. But the end result is vapid and spiritless. Gone are Young's soaring steel guitar lines and Cotton's ultrathin voice quickly becomes irritating. The lyrics to the tunes - fraught with 'easy evenin' breezes', 'cool southern rain', and 'faded memories' - simply aren't tolerable without the livelier stance [Poco] used to take." [11] Record World praised the title track for its "stinging lead guitar, bulldozer rhythm and clean lead vocals." [12]
In his AllMusic review, music critic Bruce Eder wrote, "Listening to parts of this album, one gets the sense that, with the arrival of Charlie Harrison (bass, harmony vocals) and Steve Chapman (drums) in the group, Poco was deliberately adopting a change in sound similar to what the Eagles went through when Joe Walsh joined, into much harder rocking territory, at least part of the time." He called "Heart of the Night" "one of the most finely crafted songs in the group's history." [7]
Poco
Additional musicians
| Chart (1978/79) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [14] | 52 |
| Canada | 12 |
| US Billboard 200 | 14 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [15] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassist Randy Meisner, and drummer George Grantham. Meisner quit the band while they were recording their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, though his bass and backing vocal parts were kept in the final mix. He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1969, and Messina left in 1970 to be replaced by Paul Cotton. The line-up would change numerous times over the next several decades, with Rusty Young being the only constant member. A reunion of the founding members occurred in the late 1980s-early 1990s, and the band has continued in some form through 2021, though they retired from active touring in 2013, with Young citing health concerns as the primary cause of his retirement. Young died from a heart attack in April 2021.
Paul Richard Furay is an American musician and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member. He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Timothy B. Schmit, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner. His best known song was "Kind Woman," which he wrote for his wife, Nancy.
Crazy Eyes is the fifth studio album released by the American country rock band Poco. Released in 1973, Crazy Eyes was the band's final album with founding member Richie Furay during his original tenure in Poco.
Seven is the sixth studio album by American country rock band Poco. It is the first album they made after leader Richie Furay left the band. The front cover was designed by Phil Hartman. On this album the group experimented with a harder rock sound on some of the tracks.
Cantamos is the seventh studio album by the country rock band Poco. It was released in 1974 on Epic Records. This album saw the band moving back towards their traditional country rock sound after experimenting with a harder style on the previous album.
Head Over Heels is the eighth studio album by the American country rock band Poco, and their first on ABC Records. Timothy Schmit's "Keep On Tryin'" shows off the band's skills in harmonizing and eventually became a favorite that the band played in concert for many years. It also contains Rusty Young performing his first lead vocal on a Poco album on the track "Us", and a recording of the rare Steely Dan song "Dallas".
Poco Live is the tenth album, and second live album, by the American country rock band Poco. The material for this album had been recorded for Epic Records shortly after the Cantamos album, but it was not released until over a year later, after Poco's switch to ABC Records and success with the Head over Heels album. The release of this album produced confusion in the marketplace over whether this or Rose of Cimarron was Poco's newest album, helping sales of Poco Live and hurting sales of Rose of Cimarron.
Rose of Cimarron is the ninth studio album by the American country rock band Poco, released in 1976.
Indian Summer is the tenth studio album by the American country rock band Poco, released on May 1, 1977. The appearance of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen playing synthesizer on two of the tracks marked another move away from the country rock sound the band had primarily been known for. This was the band's last studio album before both Timothy B. Schmit and George Grantham left the group.
Under the Gun is the twelfth studio album by the American country rock band Poco. Released in July 1980, Under the Gun was the follow-up to Poco's breakout album Legend.
Cowboys & Englishmen is the fourteenth studio album by the American country rock band Poco. The Young-penned "Feudin'" was nominated for a Grammy in 1982 for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Largely made up of cover songs the album was Poco's last for MCA and reflected the fact that it was a contractual obligation album. When ABC Records was sold to MCA the new label A&R department showed little effort in promoting the band and, as a result, the band fielded offers from other labels once their contract was up and signed with Atlantic Records for their next two albums Ghost Town and Inamorata.
Ghost Town is the fifteenth studio album by the country rock band Poco, released September 20, 1982. The Atlantic Records label debut of Poco, Ghost Town was the final album by Poco to feature the group lineup who had played on Poco's 1978 breakout album Legend, as the 1984 Poco album release Inamorata would not feature Charlie Harrison.
Inamorata is the sixteenth studio album by the country rock band Poco, released in 1984. Featuring guest spots by former members Timothy B. Schmitt, Richie Furay and George Grantham, this would be the last album that the band would record for Atlantic Records. After this the original line up would reform for the 1989 release Legacy.
The Last Roundup is the 21st album, and third live album, by the country rock band Poco.
Keeping the Legend Alive is the 22nd album and 4th live album by the country rock band Poco. It was re-released in 2006 under the title "Alive In The Heart Of The Night." It includes original members Richie Furay, *George Grantham and Rusty Young, Paul Cotton who replaced Jim Messina in 1970 and Jack Sundrud a member since the 1990s.
Backtracks is a compilation album by the American country rock band Poco, released in 1982. The nine tracks are taken from the first six studio albums the band recorded for MCA after having left their original label Epic.
The Essential Collection (1975–1982) is a compilation album by the American band Poco, released in 1997.
"Crazy Love" is a 1979 hit single for the country rock group Poco introduced on the 1978 album Legend. Written by founding group member Rusty Young, "Crazy Love" was the first single by Poco to reach the Top 40 and remained the group's biggest hit, with a special impact as an Adult Contemporary hit, being ranked by Billboard as the #1 AC song for the year 1979.
"Heart of the Night" is a song on the 1978 album release by the country-rock group Poco entitled Legend; the 1979 hit single is also featured on the group retrospective 20th Century Masters, as well as The Essential Poco.
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