It’s a sold-out crowd for a special concert by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay — hailed as one of the founders of country-rock — at SOPAC in South Orange, NJ, this Saturday, May 18, 2019. Fans and friends are here to help celebrate the 75th birthday of this gifted singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Furay is an Ohio-born musician who started his professional music career in the NY/NJ metropolitan area as a member of the Au Go Go Singers, the house band at the Café Au Go Go, a famed ‘60s-era Greenwich Village nightspot.
In the mid-‘60s, Furay formed Buffalo Springfield with several other up-and-coming musicians including Stephen Stills and Neil Young — both of whom went on to achieve success independently and with their group, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
Buffalo Springfield’s biggest hit, “For What It’s Worth,” became an anthem for the 1960s, but the band’s three albums — all recorded in the span of just two years — consisted of such additional outstanding material as Furay’s original composition, “Kind Woman.” Furay’s crisp, clean vocals earned him the nod as the group’s lead singer and, as such, it is his voice which carries many of Neil Young’s early compositions.
After Buffalo Springfield disbanded in 1968, Furay teamed up with Jim Messina in an effort to fuse the sounds of rock and country in a new musical style. In the process, they worked with others including Randy Meisner in their group, Poco, creating a groundbreaking genre of music called country-rock — Messina continuing his experimentation with Loggins and Messina, and Meisner with the Eagles. It is said that at an Eagles’ concert in Denver, band leader Glenn Frey once pointed out Richie Furay in the audience and announced, “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here.”
In the mid-1970s, Furay left Poco to form The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with songwriter J.D. Souther and The Byrds’ Chris Hillman. Their self-titled debut album was certified gold, and they also produced a top forty hit with Furay’s “Fallin’ in Love.”
After moving to Colorado, Furay created The Richie Furay Band. He also formed an alliance with producer David Geffen and, in the late-’70s, his song, “I’ve Got a Reason,” helped to establish him as a pioneer of Christian Rock. In the ’80s, Furay made the shift from musical innovator to pastor of a Christian church in the Denver area. He still continues to tour as a solo artist, however, opening in the mid-2000s for acts like America and Linda Ronstadt, and headlining his own concerts today.
As we wait in the SOPAC lobby for the auditorium doors to open, we meet brothers David and Richie, two of Richie Furay’s biggest fans.
Says older brother, David, from Baton Rouge, LA, “Since 1970, I’ve seen Richie Furay in concert at least 60 times. What I love about Richie is his songwriting and his angelic voice — plus he is the nicest guy in the world; he’s an angel.”
Adding, “Every single song he’s ever written is great — there’s not a bad one in the bunch,” David acknowledges, “but my all-time favorite is ‘Let’s Dance Tonight’ from Poco’s Crazy Eyes album,” adding, “For me, Richie was Poco.”
Younger brother Richie, from Brookline MA, recalls, “When I was seven years old and David was 14, he took me to see my very first concert — Poco. He let me tag along and put me on his shoulders so I could actually see Richie and the band perform.”
“After that, I started listening to all of Richie Furay’s records with my friends, and we all became Poco fans,” continues Richie. “48 years later, all of us are still listening to his music along with the music he created with Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band.”
Concludes David on this special 75th Birthday Celebration concert, “Happy Birthday, Richie; I’ll be there at your 100th birthday,” to which little brother Richie adds, “My birthday wish to Richie Furay is, as my people say, ‘He should live to be 120 and still playing his music!’”
Out in the lobby, we also chat with Al and Jolie from Ramsey.
Confesses Al, “I proposed to my wife, Jolie, using a Richie Furay song! In 1985, DJ Pete Fornatale of New York’s WNEW radio had a Valentine’s Day Special, which was a dedication show. I sent Pete a letter explaining that I wanted Richie Furay’s Poco song, ‘Just For Me and You,’ played at a certain time on a certain date because I knew I would be picking up Jolie at that exact time and we would both be in the car listening to the show.”
Continues Jolie, “So we’re in the car, and I hear on the radio, ‘Are you listening, Jolie?’ Then, the song plays — and Al proposes to me”
Recalling, “I was very surprised!” Jolie remembers, “Then we had to follow up with Pete Fornatale, because he wanted to know my response,” before noting, “And this past summer for my birthday, Al had the lyrics to ‘Just For Me and You’ handwritten for me by Richie Furay, so we’ve come full circle,” concluding, “Al is the reason I got turned on to Richie and his music.”
Explains Al, “I loved Richie’s music from the beginning. I saw Poco in 1972 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic. Their music had a new sound — country rock,” acknowledging, “I even learned to play pedal steel guitar because of Poco’s pedal steel player, Rusty Young.”
Exclaims Jolie, “It’s like a bromance with my husband!” joking, “I know I don’t stand a chance if it has anything to do with Richie! But I don’t mind. Richie is a joyous person. He fills you with joy — he radiates joy. Happy 75th Birthday Richie — keep spreading the joy!”
The doors to the SOPAC auditorium open and as audience members file in, we take a moment to chat with Richie Furay’s manager, David Stone, who — along with his wife, Nancy — produced tonight’s special birthday concert. Here, Stone tells us a little bit about the evening’s 75th birthday celebration.
Reveals Stone, “Tonight’s show will have some surprises. First, we’ll launch the trailer of Richie’s DeLIVErin’ live concert video which was filmed at the Troubadour in LA in November of 2018. Then, I’ll introduce Richie and share a tribute which was written by film director Cameron Crowe who — many years ago, as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine — happened to do his very first interview with Richie and Poco. Next, we’ll have a montage of birthday videos that Richie hasn’t seen yet and, finally, Richie will play some songs he’s never done before with his new band.”
Before the show, we’re also given an opportunity to step backstage at SOPAC to chat with Richie Furay’s family.
First, we chat with Richie’s wife, Nancy, who reveals, “Tonight is the public celebration of Richie’s 75th birthday, but he was actually born on May 9. About a week ago, we had a surprise birthday party for Richie back in Colorado with over 100 people attending. Everyone was able to keep the party under wraps, so Richie was totally surprised.”
Continuing, “Richie felt very blessed that so many people wanted to celebrate with him; he was very humbled,” Nancy adds, “Our daughter, Jesse, sang at the party and did a few of Richie’s songs. I just love it when Richie and Jesse perform together — there’s something special when family members can sing together.”
Richie’s daughter, Jesse Furay Lynch — a member of Richie’s band tonight — agrees with her mom, stating, “It’s so neat to sing with my dad. It’s fun!” noting, “I feel so blessed that he wants to take me out on the road. I don’t ever want it to end.”
Lastly, we get a chance to chat with Richie Furay himself who — as soon as we see him in his dressing room — holds up a T-shirt he just received as a gift which reads, “Vintage May ’44,” and exclaims, “Look what I got!”
Wondering aloud, “May ’44? 75 years old?” Furay discloses, “I think about those numbers and they don’t compute. It’s very humbling,” before adding, “but it’s fun that I can still do this at 75!”
Explaining, “Tonight, for my birthday, I’ll be doing something a little different. I’ll be working with a new configuration of musicians, which is something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. The instrumentation — acoustic guitar, keyboards, and mandolin/violin/electric guitar — will give the songs a different color.”
After revealing, “Some of the songs I’ll be doing are ones that were never worked up by my old band: ‘In the Still of the Night,’ ‘I’ve Got a Reason,’ ‘Starlight,’ and ‘I Still Have Dreams,’” Furay adds, “but of course we’ll do ‘Hand in Hand’ and ‘Kind Woman.’ After 52 years of marriage to Nancy, those are still very special songs. Plus, my daughter, Jesse, is with me, and she’ll be singing four songs tonight.”
When asked about his uncanny ability to make people happy with the extraordinary catalog of music he’s composed, Furay smiles and says, “I’ve just been very fortunate,” adding, “You know, a fan once told me, “You can write even the saddest song and still make me feel good!”
Following our chat, we make our way back to the SOPAC auditorium where, on the overhead screen, the sold-out house is watching the trailer for the DeLIVErin’ Again Live at the Troubadour live-concert video in which Furay and friends recently recreated Poco’s classic DeLIVErin’ live album. On the trailer, music authorities including Linda Ronstadt’s producer, Peter Asher, along with Eagles’ bassists Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmidt, comment on the video which is scheduled to be released — along with an audio recording — later this year.
David Stone takes the stage and introduces tonight’s guest of honor: Richie Furay. As Furay stands beside him, Stone reads a message created especially for Richie by director Cameron Crowe in which Crowe asserts, “Richie Furay’s soul and beauty are what makes his music matter.”
Following the message’s conclusion, audience members spontaneously begin to sing an impromptu version of “Happy Birthday” to Richie. This is followed by a video montage of birthday greetings from such notable Furay friends and colleagues as The Moody Blues’ John Lodge, Herman’s Hermits’ Peter Noone, The Byrds’ Chris Hillman, singer Tommy James, America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, and many more. The audience enjoys seeing Furay laughing and reacting to the greetings as he experiences them for the very first time.
After the final video greeting, Furay takes the mic announcing, “Welcome to the party! I look at all those videos, and they bring back so many memories.”
Here, Furay introduces a cherished friend sitting in the audience, Bob Harmelink, explaining, “Back in 1964, we were in college and went to New York City together to become folksingers.”
Grabbing his guitar, Furay opens tonight’s birthday concert with an acoustic rendition of his 1974 Souther-Hillman-Furay song, “Fallin’ in Love.” Singing, “Here I go again, it’s alright,” it’s astonishing just how beautiful his rich, full voice sounds at 75 as it fills the SOPAC theater.
Following huge applause, Furay announces, “I want you to get the feel of what these songs were before we added other instruments.” At this point, he launches into his 1968 composition for Buffalo Springfield “On the Way Home.” The audience sings and claps along on this unplugged rendition, loving the experience as the melody and lyric of this classic song shines through.
Explains Furay, “With Buffalo Springfield, we went round and round about who would sing lead, and I got the thumbs up.” Then, joking, he says, “When I was 30, I played it like this,” before lowering the key and blurting out, “When I was 50, it was like this,” and lowering the key again and growling, “And now I’m 75!”
Here, he performs his 1971 Poco song,“Just For Me and You.” Singing, “To open up your day/Ooh, words can’t begin to say/Feelings that are hidden in/In such a special way,” audience members begin to clap mid-song. At the end, Furay dedicates the number saying, “That one would be for Mr. and Mrs. Stone.”
After acknowledging, “I’m tired of playing all by myself — I’ve been in bands forever, so to stand out here by myself is different,” Furay brings out Jack Jeckot to join him on keyboards, announcing, “I love playing music with him.”
Jeckot’s keyboard swirls as Furay gives a heartfelt and soulful performance of his 1976 composition, “I’ve Got a Reason.”
Furay follows up by introducing his daughter, Jesse Furay Lynch, to sing “(Goin’) Wild For You Baby,” a number from her latest CD. With her soulful country voice, Jesse immediately connects with the music lovers in the SOPAC audience.
Furay next introduces musician Randall Utterback saying, “I’ve had a band for many years, but there comes a time for a change.” Explaining how he wants the music tonight to be “more intimate — like you are in my living room,” he acknowledges that in order to acheive that goal, he needs “someone who can play all the instruments” — Randall Utterback.
As Utterback strums his mandolin and daughter Jessie sings backup and plays tambourine, Richie happily sings lead and plays guitar on his 1969 Poco classic, “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.”
At the conclusion, the audience cheers and applauds for this upbeat country-rocker as one especially excited audience member enthusiastically cries out, “Bravo!”
“Calling Out Your Name” is a tuneful 2016 Furay composition which has Richie singing and strumming out a groove on his guitar with daughter Jessie providing vocal harmonies, along with strong piano playing by Jack Jeckot and some fancy mandolin picking by Randall Utterback.
The song builds in intensity and feeling before the audience responds with animated cheers and applause.
The cheering and applause resumes as soon as audience members recognize the intro to Furay’s 2015 composition, “We Were the Dreamers.”
Singing, “We were the dreamers/Shooting high for the stars/Making rock and roll music/Playing country guitars,” Furay recalls his years as a member of Poco on this number which elicits even more cheers from the crowd for his country-rock anthem.
Daughter Jesse’s background harmonies support her father’s poignant lead vocal on 1976’s “Starlight.” Then, Utterback picks up his fiddle and Jeckot plays harmonica as Furay removes his jacket and the musicians perform an acoustic rendition of “Go and Say Goodbye,” an early Buffalo Springfield number from 1966 written by Stephen Stills.
As Utterback’s fiddle cries out, Jeckot’s harmonica adds its voice to the country feel of this song, and Jesse keeps the beat on the tambourine. Singing with a country twang, the people love Richie’s performance on this classic number and respond with exuberant hoots and hollers.
Segueing into Furay’s classic tune for Buffalo Springfield, “A Child’s Claim to Fame,” vocal harmonies shine and Uttrback takes a fiddle solo, bouncing his bow, playing with vibrato, and plucking on his strings.
Telling daughter Jesse, “You’re up, Bird!” Jesse is featured on a heartfelt rendition of Poco bassist Jack Sundrud’s composition “Hard Country.”
Jesse’s country-sounding vocal adds to the fullness of the song as her dad plays acoustic guitar — the interplay of the musicians making this performance a special one. After a member of the crowd calls out, “Alright, Jesse!” other audience members continue to hoot and holler.
Piano, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar introduce 2009’s “In the Still of the Night,” Furay’s voice crying out on the rock ballad, singing this pretty love song with his eyes closed.
After bowing to audience applause, Furay calls out, “How are we doing?” to which the crowd enthusiastically responds in the affirmative.
Picking up the pace with some upbeat country fiddle and piano playing, audience members clap along on Poco’s 1971 country-rocker, “You Are the One,” where Jeckot wails on the harmonica and Jesse’s tambourine jingle-jangles while she harmonizes.
Smiling as he sings, Furay performs his gospel-filled, “Wake Up My Soul,” where he’s accompanied by grand piano, fiddle, and an ending filled with angelic harmony.
Then, inviting the audience to sing along, he performs “Overflow,” his sweet vocal flowing out over the audience. As the audience joins in singing on the “Overflow” chorus, Furay gives them a thumbs-up before he and Jesse sing their own countermelody creating a beautiful and joyous vocal counterpoint.
Jesse handles the lead vocal on “I Wish it Would Rain,” a country ballad which features Utterback on electric guitar and Jeckot on piano, and she continues in the spotlight with a powerful rendition of her father’s composition, “Satisfied.” The music builds as she freely cries with passion, prompting hoots and hollers from the crowd, after which Richie explains, “I recorded that song in 1979 — the year Jesse was born — and now she’s recorded it on her own CD.”
Furay and Co. follow up with performances of “I Still Have Dreams” and “Wind of Change,” before launching into “Someday,” a song which Richie originally recorded with blues artist, Keb Mo. Heads bop in the audience as Jesse dances with fancy tambourine playing on this country rocker before Jeckot plays a rockin’ boogie-woogie piano solo and Utterback channels Jim Messina with a twangy electric guitar solo.
As harmonies roll along like a runaway train, it’s clear to all present that, at 75, Richie Furay clearly enjoys playing with this talented group of musicians, and audience members reward him and the band by leaping to their feet following this uplifting rocker.
Announcing, “Thank you all for coming out for my birthday!” the crowd stays on its feet for Furay’s joyful rendition of one of his greatest compositions, “A Good Feelin’ to Know.” Filling the auditorium with good vibrations, Furay holds up his guitar as he plays to audience whistles and cheers.
After introducing the members of his band, Furay says, “God bless you all — thank you so much.” The group leaves the stage, but following continued cheers and applause, they soon return, at which point Furay exclaims, “You guys are awesome!”
Talking about his wife, Nancy, Furay recounts, “She’s my inspiration. I’m more in love with her today than I was 52 years ago,” adding, “I’ve been blessed with more than I could ever ask for.”
Here, he performs a medley of two songs he wrote for Nancy — 2015’s “Hand in Hand” and his brilliant composition for Buffalo Springfield, “Kind Woman.” The sounds of a slow fiddle line, harmonica, and Jesse’s voice add to the mood as Furay sings, “Kind woman/Don’t leave me lonely tonight/Please say it’s all right.” Richie and Jesse share a microphone together, singing background harmony lines to accompany Utterback’s violin solo before Furay retakes the lead and the audience cries its approval.
Announcing, “Thank you for the love that you show,” Furay exclaims, “I love you back!” as audience members stand and cheer for Furay and Co. who take a well-deserved bow.
Following the performance, we chat with several audience members who share their reactions to tonight’s 75th birthday concert with Richie Furay.
Comments Mike from Milford, “This concert was great! Richie played some songs we hadn’t heard played before, and they really sounded fantastic.”
Remarks Dolores from Brookfield, CT, “Richie Furay and his band were just fabulous tonight! The energy on stage was amazing — the addition of the fiddle and mandolin were wonderful — and getting to hear Jesse singing her songs was wonderful.”
Continuing, “It’s standard practice that we travel to see Richie,” Dolores explains, “We truly enjoy his music, not to mention the people we’ve met at his concerts. His fans are a dedicated bunch!”
Dolores’ husband, Keith, concurs adding, “If it’s Richie, we’re there.”
Next, we chat with a daughter, Lindsey, and her parents, Susan and Phil, from Westchester County, NY.
With a smile wide enough to light up a stage, Lindsey declares, “I am!” when asked if she’s a big Richie Furay fan, after which dad Phil explains, “We go to all of his concerts. We’re everywhere — wherever Richie is, we are, too.”
Mom Susan reveals, “Lindsey loves Eagles’ bassist Timothy B. Schmidt, and even takes bass lessons because of him. Through Timothy, Lindsey found Richie on Facebook three years ago and they became friends through social media.”
Acknowledging, “Richie is such a genuinely kind person, as is his wife, Nancy,” Susan notes, “His music is awesome, and his daughter, Jesse, has an awesome voice, too.”
Disclosing, “Lindsey’s favorite song is ‘We Are the Dreamers’ — a song which Richie has dedicated to her,” Susan speaks for the entire family when she exclaims, “Happy 75th birthday, Richie! We’re so glad we were able to be here to celebrate it with you.”
Bob from Chalfont PA, concurs adding, “Happy Birthday, Richie — thanks for all the years of great music!”
Lastly, we chat with with Steve, a professional musician from Canada who is a member of Toronto’s Small World World Band.
Contends Steve, “Richie Furay inspires me. He started his career performing with Buffalo Springfield, which has always been one of my favorite bands.”
Recalling, “I met Richie 35 years ago, and he is such a genuine positive human being,” Steve explains, “The great thing about being a musician — unlike being an athlete — is the older you get, the more dialed-in you get.”
Asserting, “This concert was nothing less than anything Richie has ever done before,” Steve explains, “It was intimate — with perfect sound and seating where everyone had a perfect view,” before concluding, “It was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen.”
To learn more about Richie Furay, go to richiefuray.com. For information on the Kickstarter campaign to support the release of Richie Furay’s DeLIVErin’ Again Live at the Troubadour video and audio later this year, please click on www.kickstarter.com. To find out how you can contribute to the documentary, Through It All: The Life and Influence of Richie Furay, which is currently in production, please go to richiefuray.com/film.
For info on upcoming concerts at SOPAC in South Orange, NJ — including Don McLean on June 7, Rufus Wainwright on August 24, Graham Nash on September 25, and Peter, Paul and Mary’s Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey on October 11 — please click on sopacnow.org.
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