Pure Prairie League
They took their name from an obscure 19th century Temperance Union mentioned in the 1939 Erroll Flynn film Dodge City. It seems fitting as Pure Prairie League is a distinctly American band, founded in Columbus, Ohio, in the mid ‘60s by a group of friends playing cover songs. The group’s eponymous first album, featuring the Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover that introduced fans to Pure Prairie League’s mascot, the cowpoke, “Sad Luke,” was called a “major early influence in the emerging popularity of country-rock music.” The sophomore album, the multi-platinum Bustin’ Out, had the classic Craig Fuller song, “Amie” and their third album, Two Lane Highway, featured Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris and Johnny Gimble. Pure Prairie League had five consecutive Top 40 LPs in the 1970s and added a sixth in the 1980s. Songs like “Two Lane Highway, “Let Me Love You Tonight,” and “Early Morning Riser” helped define the country-rock sound.
