Poco: You Better Think Twice

I got thinking about this song the other day and it brought back memories of my first concert – Poco at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh in 1973. When they did this song in concert, Richie Furay sang the lead – it would be his last tour with the band before creating Souther, Hillman, and Furay later that year.

 The original vocalist on this cut was its composer, Jimmy Messina. Messina had left the band after the LP “Poco” – their second, which features “You Better Think Twice.” It was their first single to chart – at a dismal #72.

The album and single also feature Rusty Young on pedal steel guitar (among other instruments), George Grantham on drums, and newcomer Timothy B. Schmidt on bass. Schmidt was the replacement for Randy Meisner who left the band after their debut LP. He would later replace Meisner again when he joined the Eagles. Everyone sang backup.

Live Reunion Version

Richie Furay joins the band in a reunion to do this classic Poco cut. Paul Cotton, who replaced Messina, plays the leads on this one. Rusty Young, who in later years became the band’s leader, introduces the song. Jack Sundrud is on bass and George Lawrence joins in on drums and percussion. I believe that Michael Webb is the keyboardist.