Possibly the most baffling love song ever recorded comes out of Ohio. It was released sometime during the early 1970s, and just about anyone from back then will know these words: “I can see why you think you belong to me/ I never tried to make you think or let you see/ One thing for yourself.” It’s the hit single off of the Pure Prairie League
’s second album, Bustin’ Out, and it’s called “Amie.” Founding member Craig Fuller wrote it and sang it. Maybe it’s the song’s cheery bluegrass contrasted with Fuller’s hangdog voice that made listeners over the years want the song to be about something it is not — a real woman named Amie from Ohio. But, no dice. Fuller told the Tennessean newspaper in 2016 that all he was doing when he wrote “Amie” was “stringing words and music together.”
The Pure Prairie League began in 1965. It was many different bands throughout its lifespan. Membership turnovers encouraged the band’s sound to wander away from the original ’70s country-rock acoustic guitar-and-pedal-steel blueprint. “Let Me Love You Tonight,” for example, voiced by then-member Vince Gill during the ’80s, is pop-radio sugar with saxophone. It was the PPL’s biggest hit.
So, what has the Pure Prairie League done for you lately? Today, the band is running with founder John David Call and almost-original bassist Mike Reilly (he joined in 1972, right about the time Craig Fuller got carted off to jail for draft evasion). There’s a pair of energetic new members: drummer Scott Thompson and Donnie Clark on guitar. It’s the nostalgia circuit for these guys, some of whom have performed “Amie” (and the rest of the PPL catalog) for almost 50 years. “But now you’re off with someone else and I’m alone/ You see, I thought that I might keep you for myself.” Make it about whatever you want it to be.
Possibly the most baffling love song ever recorded comes out of Ohio. It was released sometime during the early 1970s, and just about anyone from back then will know these words: “I can see why you think you belong to me/ I never tried to make you think or let you see/ One thing for yourself.” It’s the hit single off of the Pure Prairie League
’s second album, Bustin’ Out, and it’s called “Amie.” Founding member Craig Fuller wrote it and sang it. Maybe it’s the song’s cheery bluegrass contrasted with Fuller’s hangdog voice that made listeners over the years want the song to be about something it is not — a real woman named Amie from Ohio. But, no dice. Fuller told the Tennessean newspaper in 2016 that all he was doing when he wrote “Amie” was “stringing words and music together.”
The Pure Prairie League began in 1965. It was many different bands throughout its lifespan. Membership turnovers encouraged the band’s sound to wander away from the original ’70s country-rock acoustic guitar-and-pedal-steel blueprint. “Let Me Love You Tonight,” for example, voiced by then-member Vince Gill during the ’80s, is pop-radio sugar with saxophone. It was the PPL’s biggest hit.
So, what has the Pure Prairie League done for you lately? Today, the band is running with founder John David Call and almost-original bassist Mike Reilly (he joined in 1972, right about the time Craig Fuller got carted off to jail for draft evasion). There’s a pair of energetic new members: drummer Scott Thompson and Donnie Clark on guitar. It’s the nostalgia circuit for these guys, some of whom have performed “Amie” (and the rest of the PPL catalog) for almost 50 years. “But now you’re off with someone else and I’m alone/ You see, I thought that I might keep you for myself.” Make it about whatever you want it to be.
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