Sometime it’s not the compliment but the source of the adulation that grabs the most attention. So it was when the late Glenn Frey of The Eagles dubbed Little River Band “the best singing band in the world.” Such praise, coming from a guy who co-founded arguably the best singing band in popular music, carried a lot of weight.
Frey wasn’t just blowing smoke. Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975, Little River Band exemplified the pop and rock talent emerging from the Land Down Under at the time. Most of the band’s material from the 1970s and 1980s was written by founding members Glenn Shorrock and Graeham Goble.
The band’s founding members are long departed but the harmonies that brought album and CD sales in excess of 30 million remains very much intact, with lead singer and bassist Wayne Nelson, who joined the band in 1980, leading the charge. While many may argue this isn’t the same band that set out in 1975 and subsequently recorded a bevy of hit songs, those songs still sound as sweet as ever and rekindle memories for legions of fans around the globe.
On Wednesday, July 26th, full evidence of Little River Band’s enduring appeal will provided at Del Crary Park as the Nelson-led quintet headlines Peterborough Musicfest. Admission to the 8 p.m. concert, as always, is free.
Recording and releasing an album each year from 1975 through 1977, Little River Band struck platinum in 1978 with its fourth album Sleeper Catcher. Peaking at number 16 on the Billboard 200 listing, it featured the singles “Reminiscing” and “Lady,” both of which landed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.
One of the most frequently played songs in the history of U.S. radio with five million plays, “Reminiscing” is the band’s most well-known hit, reaching #3 on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. John Lennon reportedly said it was one of his favourite songs.
VIDEO: “Reminiscing” – Little River Band
The band capitalized on that success just a year later, releasing First Under The Wire that put forth yet another two Billboard 100 top 10 hits with “Lonesome Loser” and “Cool Change.”
Come 1980, Nelson was in the picture, singing the lead vocal on “Night Owls” which, along with “Man On Your Mind” and “Take It Easy On Me,” anchored the success of Time Exposure, the band’s sixth studio album in six years.
Of note, lead guitarist Stephen Housden came into the fold at the same time, subsequently working closely with Nelson to keep Little River Band in the game into the new millennium and beyond — a role he continues to hold.
From 1983 to 2013, Little River Band released another nine studio albums, buoyed by its remarkable run of having recorded top 10 hits for six consecutive years. In recognition of its enduring success, Little River Band was inducted into the Australian Recording Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
Now based in the United States, and with more 30 personnel changes in its rear view mirror, Little River Band is in the midst of an extensive North American tour, with the Peterborough Musicfest appearance marking the lone Canadian stop.
Meanwhile, while much has been written about the nasty disputes between the original band members and those who followed over the use of the band’s name and song rights, that has done little if anything to dampen fans’ love for the music of their youth.
VIDEO: “Lonesome Loser” – Little River Band
Whatever one’s take, there’s no denying Nelson’s 40-year devotion to keeping Little River Band together and relevant to modern audiences. In a 2013 interview with Laura Butler of VintageRock.com, the Kansas City, Missouri native opened up on the criticism levelled his way.
“There are people out there that think I shouldn’t be doing this and I’ve heard that opinion for years,” he says. “The truth of the matter is this — it was kind of a unique situation. It’s not like (the band) was together a long time before they starting changing personnel. It happened the first year that the band was around. (Two years later) they made an album with three or four different bass players, none of whom were the first two guys that played with them. Then they went on the road with even a sixth guy or a seventh guy and that’s when we met.”
While Nelson readily admits the current iteration is not the original band {“If you want to hear the original band, it has been recorded for you to listen to your heart’s content”), he says audiences are grateful for the opportunity to hear their beloved songs performed live.
“(People) come up to me every single night and tell me heartwarming stories about what the band has meant to them when they were in the military, or in good times, or bad times during their life,” Nelson explains. “There are a lot of emotional connections between people and our music and the bottom line to that is they say ‘Thank you, thank you for keeping this going, and thank you for bringing this to our town so that we can experience the band live.'”
According to Nelson, there’s one collective goal anchoring the band’s drive to serve up Little River Band’s catalogue of memory-inducing hit music.
“It’s making sure the band that comes to town is presenting the songs in an energetic way, paying total respect to the songs and their emotional value. It’s not just the Little River Band for the sake of the name and not just throw it up there on the stage, and close enough is good enough. We have never thought that way.”
VIDEO: “Lady” – Little River Band
Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert and the entire 2023 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2023 season.
