Mason Proffit

Mason Proffit
Origin Chicago, Illinois, US
Genres Folk rock
Years active 1969–1973
Labels Happy Tiger, Ampex, Warner
Website www.masonproffit.com
Past members Terry Talbot, John Michael Talbot, Tim Ayers, Art Nash, Ron Schuetter, Bruce Kurnow, Bill Cunningham[1]

Mason Proffit was a folk rock band from Chicago, Illinois that released five albums between 1969 and 1973.[2]

History

Brothers Terry Talbot and John Michael Talbot played together in several local bands around Indianapolis, Indiana and later in Chicago. After their group Sounds Unlimited disbanded, in 1969 they formed Mason Proffit with a focus on the emerging blend of folk, country and rock that would come to be called country rock.[3] Older brother Terry's "Two Hangmen" from their first album Wanted... Mason Proffit, became a regional hit and helped their second album, Movin' Toward Happiness, chart on the Billboard 200. In 1972, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records and continued touring, performing up to 300 concerts each year. Some of Mason Proffit's opening acts during that time included The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, John Denver, and Mac Davis. Their country-rock-bluegrass style was innovative yet difficult to place in a marketing genre. Their live shows were high energy. And once, while jamming with The Scruggs Review, John Hartford and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Earl Scruggs called John Talbot "the best banjo player I've ever heard." Warner Bros. re-released their first two albums as a compilation called Come And Gone plus two more discs, Rockfish Crossing and Bareback Rider. Mason Proffit disbanded when brothers John and Terry Talbot left the band and began performing as a duo. Warners then released The Talbot Bros., the first of three duo albums with the remaining two released on Sparrow Records. Sparrow eventually re-issued the first Talbot Bros. album, minus the track "Moline Truckin."

After the break-up, the Talbot brothers began to record contemporary Christian music on Sparrow Records, earning themselves a Grammy Award nomination and several Dove Award nominations. The Talbot brothers opened for The Eagles on a national tour.

John Talbot 1971 Coe College

Discography

Year Title Chart Position Label Number
1970WantedHappy Tiger1009
1971Movin' Toward Happiness1771019
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream186AmpexA-10138
1972Rockfish Crossing211Warner Bros.BS-2657
1973Bare Back Rider198BS-2704
1973Come And Gone * 2032S-2746
2005Still Hangin'Mason Proffit

* double album reissue of Wanted and Movin' Toward Happiness

References

  1. "NME Artists - Mason Proffit". Muze UK LTD. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  2. Sendra, Tim. "Mason Proffit Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  3. Krakow, Steve (2008-10-23). Mason Proffit. Interview with Nick Digilio. The Secret History of Chicago Music. WGN. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

External links