In the early '70s, Rick Roberts and Jock Bartley first met while Bartley was on tour with Gram Parsons as a member of his backing band The Fallen Angels. Both The Fallen Angels and Roberts were performing in New York City at the same venue on back to back nights. Roberts was impressed by Bartley lead and slide guitar work. The duo soon began practicing and even performing together. Encouraged by their peers to form a band together, they contacted bassist-singer Mark Andes (who had gone into semi-retirement in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado) and singer-songwriter-guitarist Larry Burnett and coaxed them into joining their band, which they christened Firefall.
In 1976 Bartley, Andes and Roberts were brought in by Chris Hillman to be part of his backup band while he was on tour. Before the band’s scheduled performance at The Other End in New York, Hillman took ill and was unable to complete the tour. Burnett and Clarke were then flown in to complete the tour. Atlantic A&R representatives (who had already heard the band’s demo tape), saw the show and quickly signed the band to a multi-album contract. Their first album was scheduled to begin recording in the winter.
The band then decided that they wanted to add a more exotic sound to their music, so they brought in Roberts’ high school friend David Muse. Muse was a multi-instrumentalist who played the saxophone, flute, harmonica and keyboards. Jim Mason, who had worked with Poco in the past, was brought in as their producer. With their lineup complete, the band went into rehearsals in Boulder.
The album was recorded in one month at Criteria Studios. The resulting album, the self-titled Firefall became Atlantic Records quickest album to reach gold status. The groups first single "Livin’ Aint’ Livin’" managed reached the top 40. Within the ensuing months the band toured with Leon and Mary Russell, the Doobie Brothers and the Band.
The band’s next single "You Are the Woman", catapulted into the top 10. To add to their exposure, they began touring with Fleetwood Mac, who were at the beginning of their most successful days. Their next single, though played extensively on FM radio, did not fair well on AM radio due to its controversial lyrics being boycotted by feminist groups. This did not however, have a lasting affect on the band’s sales.
The group then headed back to Criteria Studios to record their second album, which was to be titled Tropical Nights. They were joined by percussionist and occasional touring member Joe Lala and the Memphis Horns. But after hearing the final mix, the band received a note from Atlantic CEO saying that the album needed to be reworked, but that the band had plenty of time to do it. The band then went on tour, reworked several songs and added some new ones. The album was re-recorded and renamed Luna Sea. The album peaked at 27 on the charts and went gold less than two months after release. The single from the album "Just Remember I Love You", featuring backing vocals by future Eagle Timothy B. Schmit, reached the top 10.
It was around this time that tensions were beginning to rise within the group, stemming from non-stop touring and managements problems, not to mention frequent alcohol and drug abuse. Though at this time the group was also incredibly popular, playing to sold-out crowds with Fleetwood Mac as part of their Rumours tour.
In 1978, the band brought in producer Tom Dowd, who had worked the Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton, to produce their third album Elan, recording some at Criteria and some at L.A.’s Record Plant. The band and Dowd got along well, they had conflicting musical visions. The differences were apparently noticeable enough that the band’s new management pressured the record label into letting the band rework the album. The album put the band in-debt with the label, and within the year they parted ways with their new management. The production team of Ron and Howard Albert were brought in to finish the album. Luckily for the band Elan was a massive success, and it became their first album to reach platinum status. The singles "Goodbye, I Love You" and "Sweet and Sour" were released within a few months and continued the band’s commercial hot streak.
