Richie Furay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richie Furay (born Paul Richard Furay, on 9 May 1944, in Yellow Springs, Ohio) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is best known for forming the 1960s band Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin. His best known song with that band was Kind Woman, which he wrote for his wife, Nancy. Before the Buffalo Springfield Furay performed with Stills in the nine-member group, the Au Go Go Singers (Roy Michaels, Rick Geiger, Jean Gurney, Michael Scott, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, and Furay & Stills), the house band for the famous Cafe Au Go Go in New York City.

In the late 60s he formed the band Poco, with Jim Messina and Rusty Young. He left in 1974 to join the Souther, Hillman, Furay Band. Al Perkins, the group's pedal steel guitar player, introduced Richie to Christianity, before poor record sales led to the band's demise.

Furay then formed The Richie Furay Band, with Jay Truax, John Mehler, and Tom Stipe, releasing the album "I've Got a Reason" in 1976, which reflected Richie's new found beliefs.

Since the early 1980s, Richie Furay has been senior pastor of the Calvary Chapel in Broomfield, Colorado, a Christian church in the Denver area, though he continues to perform as a solo artist, and very occasionally with Poco. He has most recently toured as an opening for America and Linda Rondstadt during the Summer of 2006. The recent release of his latest CD The Heartbeat of Love returns Richie to his early country-rock roots with a new contemporary flare. It is a showcase for his voice and songwriting talent.