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Richie Furay | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Richard Furay |
| Born | (1944-05-09)May 9, 1944 (age 80) Yellow Springs, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, Christian minister |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | Atco,Asylum,Epic,RCA,Roulette,Myrrh,Calvary Chapel, FridayMusic |
| Website | richiefuray |
Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American musician andRock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bandsBuffalo Springfield withStephen Stills,Neil Young,Bruce Palmer, andDewey Martin, andPoco withJim Messina,Timothy B. Schmit,Rusty Young,George Grantham andRandy Meisner.[1] His best known song (originally written during his tenure in Buffalo Springfield, but eventually performed by Poco as well) was "Kind Woman," which he wrote for his wife, Nancy.[2]
Richie Furay was born inYellow Springs, Ohio. He had an early interest in music, sparked by his father listening to country music. Oncerock and roll emerged in the early 1950s, he was smitten. When he was eight years old, he got a guitar and began taking lessons. After a short visit toNew York City, he quickly returned for a longer stay, singing in folk clubs. There, he metStephen Stills.[3]
Before joiningBuffalo Springfield, Furay performed with Stills in the nine-member group, theAu Go Go Singers (Furay, Roy Michaels, Rick Geiger, Jean Gurney, Michael Scott, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, and Stills), the house band of theCafe Au Go Go inNew York City.
In the late 1960s, he formed thecountry rock bandPoco withJim Messina (who produced albums and occasionally played bass for Buffalo Springfield) andRusty Young. The band, while influential to many future country rock acts, experienced uneven commercial success. Furay's best-known songs, "Kind Woman", "Pickin' Up The Pieces", and "Good Feelin' To Know", however, have reached classic status and appear on many country rockcompilations.
Furay left Poco in 1974 to form theSouther-Hillman-Furay Band. During that timeAl Perkins, the band'spedal steel guitar player, introduced Furay to Christianity. His newfound faith helped him rebuild his troubled marriage.[4]
AlthoughSouther Hillman Furay Band's self-titled first album was certifiedGold and yielded the top thirty hit with "Fallin' in Love" in 1974, the group could not follow up on that success, and poor record sales eventually led to its demise.
After moving fromLos Angeles to Sugarloaf Mountain nearBoulder, Colorado, Furay formed The Richie Furay Band withJay Truax,John Mehler, and Tom Stipe, releasing the albumI've Got a Reason in 1976, which reflected Furay's newfound beliefs. In support of the release of the album, Furay formed an alliance withDavid Geffen andAsylum Records. Furay assured Geffen that his album would beChristian influenced but would not be an attempt to preach about his newfound beliefs.I've Got a Reason did however, establish Furay as a pioneer in Christian rock.
Furay released the 1979 albumI Still Have Dreams featuring the title cut, which was the only Top 40 hit of his solo career, peaking at #39 for 3 weeks.[5]
Overall, his albumscharted unsatisfactorily, and, compounded with the strain of touring wearing on him and his family, he retired as a performer to join the ministry. In 1983, Furay became senior pastor of theCalvary Chapel inBroomfield, Colorado, a non-sectarian Christian church in theDenver area.
In 1989, Furay reunited with Poco to release an album entitledLegacy.
In 2006 he released his albumThe Heartbeat of Love, and also toured as an opening act forAmerica andLinda Ronstadt. In 2007, he toured with a new formation of the Richie Furay Band. At the Boulder and Bluebird Theatres inColorado, they recorded a double live albumALIVE. TheALIVE set covers 29 songs of Furay's career. The Richie Furay band continued to tour through 2008 and 2009.
Furay appeared with Poco for several shows in early 2009. At the Stagecoach Festival inIndio, California in 2009, Furay and the current Poco lineup were joined onstage by original membersJim Messina and George Grantham and former bass playerTimothy B. Schmit.
On October 23, 2010,he reunited with former Buffalo Springfield bandmatesStephen Stills andNeil Young for a set at the 24th annualBridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheater inMountain View, California. The reunion continued in 2011 for a one-month tour of California, headlining 2011Bonnaroo. In July 2011, Furay announced on hisFacebook page that he would be touring with Buffalo Springfield in early 2012, ending speculation there would be a 2011 fall tour with them.[6] In 2011, Furay collaborated with the Piedmont Brothers Band as an occasional back-up vocalist on the albumPBB III (2011). He appeared on the 2013Carla Olson album,Have Harmony, Will Travel. In 2015, he released the new albumHand in Hand to positive critical reviews.
Furay retired as Pastor of Calvary Chapel in December 2017.
On June 13, 2018, the Richie Furay Band began the Deliverin' Tour at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) inNew Jersey. The first set consisted of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Souther, Hillman & Furay Band and solo material, followed by a second set with the classic 1971 Poco live album"DeLIVErin'" being performed in its entirety. A single, “I Guess You Made It”, was released on Furay's website (richiefuray.com).
The tour continued throughout the year, culminating with a Poco 50th Anniversary Celebration on November 16, 2018, at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, where Poco first performed in 1969. Randy Meisner and Peter Asher were in the audience (Poco bandmate and longtime friend, Timothy B. Schmit performed with Furay.) Furay's Troubadour show was recorded and, in April, 2021, was released in both CD and DVD asDeLIVErin' Again (50th Anniversary: Return to the Troubadour). In the same year, Furay released the single, "America, America" through his website.
In mid-2019, Furay announced he would be retiring from touring as a headliner. He embarked on a tour of the west coast in the fall of 2019, sharing the bill withDave Mason. Furay's “Farewell/76th Birthday Celebration” was originally scheduled to take place at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) inNew Jersey in 2020, however due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and storm damage to the SOPAC building, the show was postponed until 2022, so he performed a "Farewell Show" atDrew University inMadison, New Jersey on November 14, 2021 (the date of the originally scheduled SOPAC show.) He scheduled a few one-off shows in Colorado andCalifornia in the spring of 2022, with the SOPAC "Farewell Show" rescheduled for June 2022 at SOPAC, under the direction of his manager, David Stone. He included "Crazy Love" and "Bad Weather" in the shows, as a tribute to Poco bandmates Rusty Young and Paul Cotton, respectively; they both died in 2021.[7]
In June and July 2022, Furay kicked off a mini-tour, beginning in New Jersey, as well as the City Winery in Nashville, New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Boston. The shows were billed as Furay's farewell tour in support of his albumIn the Country which has cover versions of Furay's favorite country songs.[8]In the Country features a cover ofKeith Urban's "Someone Like You", released as a single. The recording also contains songs byJohn Denver,Garth Brooks,George Strait,Marc Cohn, andRicky Nelson, as well as a remake of the Poco song "Pickin' Up the Pieces".
A documentary,Through It All: The Life and Influence of Richie Furay is currently in post-production. It is narrated byCameron Crowe.[9] In a 7/18/2024 radio interview with Daniel Jones (guitarist with7th Order) on his "The Volcano Chronicles" radio show (KNKR 96.1FM on theBig Island of Hawaii) – Furay stated that the documentary may be released as soon as early 2025.[10]
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Singles
As a member of the Au Go-Go Singers:
As a member of Buffalo Springfield:
As a member of Poco:
As a member of Souther–Hillman–Furay Band
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