Pure Prairie League

Pure Prairie League (PPL) is one of the earliest and most successful country rock bands in history. Pure Prairie League and the Eagles are two groups often credited with bringing the country rock genre to a national music audience, with PPL being best known for their iconic 1972 hit "Amie". Having a frequently melodic, ballad-driven sound, PPL's roots can be found in Waverly, Ohio. In that city, from about 1964 to 1969, guitarist/singer-songwriter Craig Fuller, drummers Tom McGrail and Jim Caughlan, and pedal steel phenom John David Call all resided. The guys played in various bands together in their teen years, among them The Swiss Navy and The Omars.

The PPL ultimately located itself in Columbus, Ohio (sixty miles north of Waverly), and the group had its first success in Cincinnati. The original stage band was made up of Fuller, McGrail, Powell, Phil Stokes on bass, and Robin Suskind on guitar and mandola. His steel guitar greatly improved on the guys' country songs and sparked hot guitar duels with Fuller that contributed greatly to the 'fusion' ethos of the band, its signature sound.