Before Buffalo Springfield, Furay performed with Stills in the nine-member group, the Au Go Go Singers (Roy Michaels, Rick Geiger, Jean Gurney, Michael Scott, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, and Furay & Stills), the house band for the famous Cafe Au Go Go in New York.
In the late 1960s he formed the country-rock band Poco with Jim Messina and Rusty Young. The band failed to live up to Furay's expectations, with a disenchanted Messina and Randy Meisner leaving the band .Furay himself grew frustrated at the failure of Poco and he too departed .In 1974 he joined the The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. It was during this time that Al Perkins, the band's pedal steel guitar player, introduced Furay to Christianity. Although Souther, Hillman, Furay's self-titled first album was certified Gold and yielded the top thirty hit with "Fallin' in Love" in 1974, the group could not follow up on that success, and poor record sales eventually led to its demise.
Furay then formed The Richie Furay Band with Jay Truax, John Mehler, and Tom Stipe, releasing the album I've Got a Reason in 1976, which reflected Furay's newfound beliefs. To support the release of this album Furay formed an alliance with David Geffen and Asylum Records. Furay assured Geffen that his album would be Christian influenced but would not be an attempt to preach his newfound beliefs. "I've Got a Reason" did, however, establish Furay as a pioneer in Christian Rock. The title track of his third album, the secular "I Still Have Dreams", became a mild radio hit in 1979. Overall, his albums failed to chart satisfactorily, and, compounded with the strain of two tours during the late 1970s wearing on him and his family, he hung up his rock and roll shoes in favor of a call to the ministry.
Since the early 1980s, Furay has been senior pastor of the Calvary Chapel in Broomfield, Colorado, a non-sectarian Christian church in the Denver area. He continues to perform as a solo artist, and very occasionally with Poco. He toured as an opening act for America and Linda Ronstadt during the Summer of 2006. The 2006 release of his latest CD The Heartbeat of Love returns Furay to his early country-rock roots with a contemporary flair.
In 2007 he toured with a new formation of the Richie Furay Band. At the Boulder and Bluebird Theatres in Colorado they recorded a double live CD ALIVE. The ALIVE set covers 29 songs of Furay's career. The Richie Furay band continued to tour through 2008 and 2009. Furay appeared with Poco for several shows in early 2009. At the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California in the Spring of 2009, Furay and the current Poco lineup were joined onstage by original members Jimmy Messina and George Grantham and former bass player Timothy B. Schmidt reuniting the Poco lineup that achieved the most critical acclaim.
On October 23, 2010, he reunited with surviving Buffalo Springfield bandmates Stephen Stills and Neil Young for a set at the 24th annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
Richie regrouped with Buffalo Springfield for a 2011 tour, headlining 2011 Bonnaroo with them. In July 2011, Furay announced on his Facebook page that he would be touring with Buffalo Springfield in early 2012, ending speculation there would be a 2011 fall tour with them.
From 2011 to 2015, Furay collaborated with The Piedmont Brothers Band as lead vocalist of some songs recorded in the album PBB III (2011), Back to the Country (2013) and A Christmas Piedmont (2015).
Furay appeared on the April 2013 Carla Olson album Have Harmony, Will Travel. They sang the Gene Clark (of the Byrds) classic "She Don't Care About Time" with Richard Podolor (producer of Souther Hillman & Furay) on mandolin and latter day Byrd John York on guitar.
In 2015 Furay released his CD "Hand in Hand".
Yesterday's Gone
Richie Furay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yesterday's gone but we can still carry on, mm
A few of the memories left behind
Like an old-timey song, an old sing-along, mm
You know it cause you heard it before
Now listen closer, yeah that's it for sure
I couldn't forget it, forever more.
I heard it playin' on the radio and ooh wouldn't you know ?
It made me feel like I mighta back then
Whatever that means I guess it's fun to pretend
And meantime I tell you that I'm
Waitin', waitin' to hear that song they keep playin' year after year
It made sweet music to my ear.
I heard it playin' on the radio and ooh wouldn't you know ?
It made me feel like I mighta back then
Whatever that means I guess it's fun to pretend
And meantime I tell you that I'm
Waitin', waitin' to hear that song they keep playin' year after year
It made sweet music to my ear, I love what I hear
It made sweet music to my ear, oh
It made sweet music to my ear, listen, hear
It made sweet music to my ear.
In Richie Furay's song "Yesterday's Gone," the singer reflects on a past love and the memories that remain. The chorus repeats the phrase "yesterday's gone, but we can still carry on," acknowledging that while the past cannot be changed or relived, it can still inform the present and future. The memories are likened to an "old-timey song," which the singer and their former partner would have enjoyed listening to together. The lyrics suggest that the song still holds emotional resonance for the singer, who hears it on the radio and feels transported back in time.
The song is tinged with nostalgia and a sense of longing for a simpler time when the singer and their love were still together. The repetition of "waitin', waitin'" in the bridge further emphasizes the idea of yearning for something that is no longer attainable. However, the wistfulness is balanced by a sense of joy and appreciation for the sweet music that the song evokes. The final lines of the song highlight the power of music to bring people together and evoke strong emotions. Through this lens, "Yesterday's Gone" can be seen as a tribute to the enduring nature of memory and the comfort that familiar songs can bring.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday's gone but we can still carry on, mm
Even though the past is gone, we can still move forward and continue on with our lives.
A few of the memories left behind
We have some memories from the past that stay with us.
Like an old-timey song, an old sing-along, mm
Our memories are like an old song that we know all the words to.
You know it cause you heard it before
We are familiar with our memories because we have experienced them before.
Now listen closer, yeah that's it for sure
If we pay closer attention, we can be certain of our memories.
I couldn't forget it, forever more.
Some memories are unforgettable and will stay with us forever.
I heard it playin' on the radio and ooh wouldn't you know ?
I heard a familiar song on the radio.
It made me feel like I mighta back then
Hearing the song made me feel like I was transported back in time.
Whatever that means I guess it's fun to pretend
I may not know exactly what it means, but pretending is still enjoyable.
And meantime I tell you that I'm
In the meantime, I can tell you that I am...
Waitin', waitin' to hear that song they keep playin' year after year
I am eagerly waiting to hear that song that they keep playing every year.
It made sweet music to my ear.
The song was very enjoyable to listen to.
It made sweet music to my ear, I love what I hear
I really love listening to this song.
It made sweet music to my ear, oh
Oh, how sweet it is to listen to this song.
It made sweet music to my ear, listen, hear
Take a moment to listen and appreciate the sweet music of this song.
It made sweet music to my ear.
This song was truly a pleasure to listen to.
Contributed by Bella O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.