Colorado Music Hall of Fame Welcomes New Class of Inductees

Tim Wenger | February 1, 2015

by Chris Daniels

The Colorado music scene is booming like never before. Young artists like the Lumineers, the Fray, Flobots, and One Republic are breaking out with major mega-hits, plus artists like Pretty Lights, Elephant Revival, Tennis, Paper Bird, Shel, and Nathaniel Rateliff (and about 20 others I’m neglecting to mention) are making Colorado one of the top music markets in the country. With this wealth of new talent, it is easy to forget that they all stand on the shoulders of the men and women who came before. Thankfully, that is what the mission of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame (CMHOF) has been for the past five years: “to establish a permanent institution in the service of those traditions… to help shape our state’s musical future.”

CMHOF is a work in progress. There are so many artists who helped build the music scene in Colorado it will take the CMHOF some years to get all the “classes” recognized for their contributions. There is progress! An actual “hall” for the CMHOF finally becomes a reality at the old Trading Post at Red Rocks. The remarkable story of the negotiations with the City of Denver plus renovations and eventual expansion and remodeling of that building is a story for another time but the good news is that the new CMHOF facility will open sometime at the start of this summer’s concert season at Red Rocks. And because the mission of the CMHOF is not rock ’n’ roll or EDM or hip hop or bluegrass but “music”—including related concerns like Red Rocks, Caribou Ranch, radio stations, DJs, clubs and venues that have built this remarkably diverse Colorado music scene—it will take a while to catch up to the young musicians breaking out today… but they’ll get there too.

On January 9^th, 2015, the 2014 class of inductees played for 1,870 of their closest friends, family and fans at the Paramount Theater. The 2014 class represented a “sound” that became synonymous with the Colorado mountains for a period of about 20-years starting in the mid-1960s. Beginning with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose early members included Jackson Browne, was a west-coast ‘jug band’ that moved to Colorado in the late 1960s after their early hit “Buy For Me The Rain” put them on The Tonight Show and in the film Paint Your Wagon and in major venues around the country including Carnegie Hall. Once in Colorado, the band went on to reach the Billboard Top 10 with the Jerry Jeff Walker song “Mr. Bojangles,” and the iconic album Will The Circle Be Unbroken that brought the traditional bluegrass and country music community in Nashville together with a bunch of young scruffy Colorado mountain musicians who loved and respected the music. That album, which began as a backstage idea between banjoist John McEuen and the inventor of bluegrass banjo Earl Scruggs at Chuck Morris’ Boulder club Tulagi, went on to become a Grammy-nominated album that is one of the few recordings to land a place at the Smithsonian Museum. In their later incarnation as the Dirt Band, they had a second career with five Top 10 hits on country radio, and they were the first American band to tour the old Soviet Union. John McEuen, Jeff Hanna, Bob Carpenter and Jimmie Fadden closed the evening with Hanna’s voice and Fadden’s drumming and harp being the standout “wow” in their set. Estranged renegade founding member Jimmy Ibbotson showed up for the set and added a loose but powerful contribution of two of his most quirky and wonderfully haunting songs.

The Americana tradition that all these bands grew out of created a “Colorado sound,” like Seattle’s “grunge” or Chicago’s electric blues. It came into vogue in the 1970s. Even more than earlier CMHOF inductees John Denver and Judy Collins, this Colorado sound put songs on the charts and the area on the industry map. For me personally, Poco was the knockout set of the night. The band was the aquifer that many super groups dug into for their inspiration including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Loggins & Messina and eventually The Eagles. Born out of the 1960s folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield, local guitar and steel wizard Rusty Young started the band—coming together with Richie Furay from Buffalo Springfield, Jack Sundrud, George Lawrence, Michael Webb, George Grantham, Jim Messina, Randy Meisner (“Take It To The Limit”) and Timothy B. Schmit (lead vocals on “Crazy Love” by Poco and “I Can’t Tell You Why” by the Eagles), with the incomparable Paul Cotton rounding it out the lineup. It would take too long to explain all the comings and goings of the players through Poco and into groups like Logins & Messina and the Eagles or to unravel the good and bad feelings that went along with all of that. All that was set-aside for this night, and Poco delivered the concert’s most stunning set of hits and harmonies. Anyone who was there would have heard the origins of the Eagles—some would say the more musically challenging version of the Eagles—along with the magic that this band created until last year when Rusty Young announced that Poco had done its final show. The amazing performance they gave was one of the most memorable of the night.

You can argue for any one of the class of 2014 being the “biggest” artist. It all depends upon the rubric you use. For pure “star power,” Manassas with Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Al Perkins, Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels, Paul Harris, Dallas Taylor, Joe Lala, Kenny Passarelli, and John Barbata probably take the cake. Steve did not show up, which was no surprise, but Jeff Hanna, Jock Bartley, Richie Furay and young Nathaniel Rateliff did a beautiful job of creating some of the music from Manassas and Steve Stills the former Gold Hill volunteer firefighter and resident. Two members went on to play in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Passarelli was the session and touring bassist for Joe Walsh and Elton John plus the co-author the James Gang/Joe Walsh anthem “Rocky Mountain Way.”

Last and certainly not least was longtime Colorado favorite Firefall. I have known them for many years – dating back to when I gave Jock Bartley banjo lessons at Nick The Greek Music in Boulder. We did joint shows with Magic Music and Firefall from 1974 to 1976 in places like the Glenn Miller Ballroom at CU Boulder. Jock is the powerhouse leader behind keeping the band together for 40 years. Firefall represented the intersection where the country and Americana roots of this Colorado sound turned the corner into rock ’n’ roll. Under the guidance of producer Jim Mason (Paul Stookey, Chris Hillman, Richie Furay) and the songwriting of Rick Roberts, the band produced such hits as “You Are The Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” “Mexico” and “Cinderella” (written by Larry Burnett), to name only a few. The band had three – million-plus selling records, with one song receiving almost 7 million radio airplays (yes, you do hear “You Are The Woman” in every Safeway, King Soopers and dentist office on the planet!). Rick Roberts and Jock Bartley came out of Gram Parsons’ Fallen Angels Band and the Flying Burrito Brothers (Parsons is arguably the father of this school of music); they also had Michael Clarke (deceased) coming out of the Byrds in the band, and Mark Andes coming out of Spirit and going on to play with Heart. Larry Burnett was the band’s second acoustic player and song writer and multi-instrumentalist David Muse and percussionist (Joe LaLa (deceased) rounded out the original lineup. Firefall and the Dirt Band are the two bands that are still going strong, and the set Firefall put on confirmed their power and versatility is just as dynamic if not more so with David Muse and Mark Andes back in the lineup and the groove of Sandy Ficca’s drumming and Steven Weinmeister’s lead vocals. Now for those who know the inside history of the band, you will be pleased to know that both Rick and Larry joined the band for their final song of the set. Rick is working with Jim Mason on a new project and Larry is playing music in Washington D.C., but it is their songs that gave Firefall the platform from which they launched a 40-year dynasty. And here is where I have to tip my hat to Jock Bartley. I‘ve kept a band together for 31 years. It is no easy task. You serve roles that run the gamete – from project visionary to babysitter and everything in-between. It takes a passion for the music that is never ending, a drive and energy that is unfathomable to most musicians and skin that is thicker than a rhinoceros with chainmail to do it…and Jock does all that and plays one of the most distinctive and melodic lead guitars in the business. From his days as the student of the great jazz guitarist Johnny Smith to the iconic guitar lick that runs through their hit “Mexico,” you can always tell Jock’s signature sound and phrasing.

It was a night of Colorado luminaries and just good friends. Governor John Hickenlooper spoke of his love for the music in the state; comedian and Animal Planet veterinarian Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald inducted Firefall (he was also a bouncer/bodyguard for inductee Barry Fey and the Rolling Stones); Harold Feldman, inductee from Flash Cadillac, was there; record producer and Warner Brothers recording artist Tim Goodman came out from the East Coast; Jay Marciano and Chuck Morris represented AEG Live; and Byrds and Firefall drummer Michael Clarke’s sister represented him with his giant photo on stage. It felt more like a gathering of old friends at a massive party than an induction ceremony and concert.

The class of 2014 is going to be followed by another set of Colorado institutions, with Joe Walsh & Barnstorm (“Rocky Mountain Way”) and on to the Eagles), Dan Fogelberg (the John Mayer of his generation) and Caribou Ranch. What makes this even more exciting is that the Colorado Music Hall of Fame will celebrate its grand opening for their home at the old Red Rocks Trading Post (now the new CMHOF museum) this spring at the kickoff of the 2015 Red Rocks season. As Governor Hickenlooper said at the class of 2014 induction, “Colorado is a great home for music, with 98 venues presenting 668 concerts in 2014—we’ve got more music here than anywhere … way more than Austin, Texas!”

A work in progress—from chairman Chuck Morris to director G. Brown and all the members of the CMHOF board—they all would be the first to acknowledge they have a long way to go. There is a lack of diversity and recognition of the jazz, R&B and soul/funk/blues artists like Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves, award-winning jazz trumpeter Ron Miles, blues legend Otis Taylor, funk pioneers Freddi Henchi & the Soulsetters, award winning bassist Charlie Burrell, and legendary Earth, Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey. There are other areas to be covered, including Latin music warriors Conjunto Colores and all the class of bluegrass and jam-band artists from Hot Rize to String Cheese and the etown radio show. Is there concern in the music community that these remarkable artists are not represented? You bet. But as G Brown, Director and tireless worrier for this remarkable achievement will tell you, the CMHOF is a work in progress and a nonprofit that needs YOUR help and input to be the best it can be. Someday artists Philip Bailey, One Republic, Jill Sobule, Hot Rize, the Lumineers, Pretty Lights, and the Freddi Henchi Band – and so many more will all be there. The hall will have completed its planned expansion at Red Rocks and there will be “room for all at the inn.” So stay tuned. This is a remarkable undertaking. Colorado, the governor, and the dedicated men and women who make up the officers and board members of the non-profit Colorado Music Hall of Fame have plans that will knock your socks off. You can find out more (and even donate to the hall) at http://cmhof.org/. What makes all this possible is the incredible music fans in Colorado! We all thank you. The CMHOF would not be there if it were not for you!