Blue Mountain Eagle

In July of 1969, Canadian-born drummer <a href="spotify:artist:75TCbf3Ufi7egqJHue4DV8">Dewey Martin</a> -- the last remaining original member of <a href="spotify:artist:3eskO5m0H4yiF64vRySBjr">Buffalo Springfield</a> -- left the very last incarnation of that group (who were, by then, calling themselves New Buffalo) for a solo deal with UNI. Meanwhile, as the remaining members -- bassist <a href="spotify:artist:0SH7oumCsBzPvgqeF9q8BE">Randy Fuller</a> (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:5XoM6cP8fQykllfuK5V5TR">Bobby Fuller Four</a>), and guitarists David Price and Bob ("B.J.") Jones -- already had interest from Atco Records, they decided to soldier on, finding drummer Don Poncher (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:79morm50T71u4BvK8yAe2j">Don & the Good Times</a>) a more-than-suitable replacement. They also recruited guitarist/keyboardist/lead vocalist Joey Newman (also formerly of <a href="spotify:artist:79morm50T71u4BvK8yAe2j">Don & the Good Times</a> and Touch), and decided on a new name, Blue Mountain Eagle, taken from a newspaper published in Fox, ID. The band began recording their eponymous album in L.A., in August and December of 1969. It was released in early 1970, and during this same time, the group played on bills in the L.A. area with Love, Eric Burdon & War, <a href="spotify:artist:0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9">Pink Floyd</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:776Uo845nYHJpNaStv1Ds4">Jimi Hendrix</a>.

Ultimately, inner band struggles for leadership proved to be their undoing of this volatile ego-charged "supergroup." <a href="spotify:artist:0SH7oumCsBzPvgqeF9q8BE">Fuller</a> was the first to decide that he'd had enough, leaving the group in May 1970. (Incidentally, he re-joined <a href="spotify:artist:75TCbf3Ufi7egqJHue4DV8">Dewey Martin</a>, who had formed <a href="spotify:artist:75TCbf3Ufi7egqJHue4DV8">Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball</a> in November 1969; at the time <a href="spotify:artist:0SH7oumCsBzPvgqeF9q8BE">Fuller</a> joined the band, they were in the midst of finishing up the recording their first album, Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball.) Soon, the rest of Blue Mountain Eagle were calling it a day too. David Price, Bob Jones, and Don Poncher went on to work with <a href="spotify:artist:7aTFUEVGRV6D8pQvcWqwl0">Augie Meyers</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:3A2UXqQgMDJ3YNvLPyX5NW">the Sir Douglas Quintet</a>) for his Western Head Music album in 1973. Jones later joined <a href="spotify:artist:3Wrfz3A5PMc9fle2Tchv3N">Harvey Mandel</a>, on guitar and vocals. Price became a recording engineer, while Poncher became a successful session man, working with <a href="spotify:artist:6OqxyqEQbfqk2UKqfznUek">Bobby Whitlock</a>, Jim Price, <a href="spotify:artist:2iQ025qSnvUf94e7ZrVcFX">Chris Jagger</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3pFCERyEiP5xeN2EsPXhjI">Joe Cocker</a>, and (briefly) joined the lineup of <a href="spotify:artist:7sECLFfpeGHQYRH7Lvc9pA">Arthur Lee</a>'s Love, appearing on <a href="spotify:artist:7sECLFfpeGHQYRH7Lvc9pA">Lee</a>'s Vindicator album in 1972. ~ Bryan Thomas, Rovi