WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FIREFALL RELIVE MUSICAL MEMORIES WHILE REVISITING THEIR ROOTS

- LEE ZIMMERMAN

In most people’s minds, Firefall are remembered as consistent cham-pions of Top 40 radio. That’s due in no small part to the fact that throughout much of the mid-’70s, they maintained an enduring presence on the airwaves, due to such songs as “You Are the Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” “Strange Way,” “Cinderella,” “Mexico,” and the others that kept them in the mainstream through the early part of the ’80s.

However, what most people may not realize is that the band’s legacy reaches back even further, beginning in the late ’60s, when Firefall’s founder, songwriter and guitarist Jock Bartley was enlisted for a role in Gram Parsons’ backing band, The Fallen Angels. In addition, three members of Firefall’s initial lineup — Bartley, bassist Mark Andes (an ex-member of Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne) and singer and guitarist Rick Roberts (formerly of The Flying Burrito Brothers) — served an apprenticeship as members of Chris Hillman’s band during Firefall’s incarnation, which would also include singer and guitarist Larry Burnett and drummer Michael Clarke, the latter having served in The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Hillman, in fact, produced the group’s first demos, which paved the way for their initial label deal with Atlantic Records.