Little River Band

According to Albert Goldman's biography, John Lennon named Reminiscing as one of his favorite songs of all time. The Impressions were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Lady has also accumulated more than two million plays, and Goble is the first and only Australian songwriter ever to win four "Million Air" awards from BMI. He died on December 26, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia. Reminiscing, written by Goble, was recognised by BMI as one of the most frequently played songs in the history of American radio, with more than four million plays to its credit. He was unable to perform until 1997, when he released the album New World Order. In 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Birtles, Shorrock and Goble have also performed a number of reunion concerts, but due to the fact that they sold their rights to the LRB name when they left the band, they were forced to appear under the name Birtles Shorrock Goble: The Original Voices of the Little River Band after the current lineup of the group took legal action to prevent them from performing simply as Little River Band. On August 14, 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after stage lighting equipment fell on him at a concert in Brooklyn, New York.

They also performed "Help Is On Its Way" that night. Characteristically, Mayfield's lyrics included hard-hitting commentary on the state of affairs in black, urban ghettos at the time, previously unheard of in blaxploitation films. The original members were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards of 2004. The album was influential in the development of funk, rock and roll, R&B, soul, gospel and pop music. LRB are considered to be among Australia's most significant bands. In 1970, Mayfield left The Impressions and began a solo career, eventually peaking with Superfly (1972), one of the most influential films, soundtracks and albums in history. Farnham was replaced by the returning Shorrock, but he, Birtles and Goble all eventually left the group in the late Eighties. The band (which now has no original members) is based in America and they continue to perform and record. The Impressions reached the height of their popularity in the mid to late 1960s, with a string of Mayfield compositions that included "Keep On Pushin'," "People, Get Ready," "Choice of Colors," "This is My Country," and "We People Who Are Darker than Blue." Mayfield's "We're a Winner" became a virtual anthem of the black power/black pride movement.

Farnham's popularity in Australia was increasing at this time, and he left the band to return to his solo career, achieving huge success in Australia (he was also managed by Wheatley). "Amen," an updated version of an old gospel tune, was included in the soundtrack of 1963 MGM release "Lilies of the Field," which starred Sidney Poitier. In Australia the band continued to be favourites and songs such as "Down On The Border" and "Playing To Win" were major hits. The band had hits with "For Your Precious Love" and "Gypsy Woman." After Butler left the group and was replaced with Fred Cash, Mayfield became lead singer, frequently composing for the band, as well. Subsequent singles were only minor hits. Mayfield's career began in 1958 (see 1958 in music), when he formed The Impressions with Jerry Butler, Sam Gooden, Richad Brooks, and Arthur Brooks. John Farnham replaced Shorrock in 1982 and the first single with Farnham, "The Other Guy" reached #11 in the US. This "message music" became extremely popular during the period of political ferment and social upheaval of the 1960s and '70s.

The pressures of success and constant touring gradually took their toll on LRB and all the original members gradually left during the Eighties. Perhaps most notably, Mayfield was among the first of a new wave of mainstream African-American R&B performing artists and composers who injected social commentary into their work. In the US he failed to make an impression but in Australia he had one substantial hit, a cover version of Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover". Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 - December 26, 1999) was an African American soul, funk and R&B singer, songwriter and noted guitarist best known for his soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly. Mayfield came to prominence as lead singer/songwriter for The Impressions, then went on to have a successful solo career. In 1982 Shorrock left to pursue a solo career. During their career the band have sold more than 20 million records and scored 13 Amercan Top 40 hits.

From 1978 until 1981, they achieved six consecutive US Top 10 singles with "Reminiscing", "Lady", "Lonesome Loser", "Cool Change", "The Night Owls" and "Take It Easy On Me". During this period McLachlan left the group and was replaced by George McArdle. More concert performances in the US followed, and in 1977 "Help Is On Its Way" (an Australian number one single) and "Happy Anniversary" both narrowly missed the US Top 10. This resulted in a hit single, "It's A Long Way There", which broke into the Top 30 and galvanised the commitment of the band members.

Fuelled by a very successful Australian hit single "Curiosity Killed The Cat", the band began making promotional visits to the US in 1976. Wheatley's first-hand experiences of the rip-offs in the Sixties music scene, combined with his subsequent experience working in music management in Britain and the United States in the early '70s, enabled him to help LRB become the first Australian group to enjoy sustained commercial and chart success in the United States. A key factor in their eventual success was their manager Glenn Wheatley, who had been the bassist in te highly-regarded Australian rock band The Masters Apprentices. Remembering the indifferent reaction they had received in the UK, they decided the new band would focus on establishing themselves in the US.

Like namy other Australasian groups of the period, both Axiom and Mississippi had tried to break into the UK record market without success. They found immediate success in Australia, but individual members had greater ambitions. Prior to that, Birtles had been the bassist in '60s pop band Zoot (which also included singer-guitarist Rick Springfield) and Shorrock had been the lead singer of leading Australian 60s pop band The Twilights and early 70s country rock band Axiom. The group evolved from the harmony-rock group Mississippi in 1975.

Formed in Melbourne, Australia, and named for the Victorian township of Little River, the band's original members were Glenn Shorrock (vocals), Rick Formosa, Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble (guitars), Roger McLachlan (bass) and Derek Pellicci (drums). Little River Band is an Australian rock music band.