McGuffey Lane is an American country rock band from Athens, Ohio, and/or Columbus, Ohio, United States. The group was formed in 1972 by Terry Efaw and Steve Reis, who played together under the name Scotch & Soda. After adding songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist Bobby E. McNelley, they branded themselves McGuffey Lane, the location of Reis's Athens, Ohio, home.

McGuffey Lane
OriginAthens, Ohio, United States
GenresCountry rock
Years active1972–present
LabelsAtco
Atlantic
HCH Lick
MembersTerry Efaw
Steve Reis
John Schwab
Randy Huff
Molly Pauken
Kevin Reed
Past membersJoe Pate
Bobby Gene McNelley
Tebes Douglass

The band eventually expanded to a sextet and became well-known locally, releasing their first album on their own Paradise Island record label. The LP sold more than 40,000 copies,[1] and eventually resulted in their signing with Atco Records. They reissued the debut in 1980 and toured with the Charlie Daniels Band, The Judds, and the Allman Brothers Band. The follow-up, Aqua Dream, featured the single "Start It All Over", which spent three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 97 in February 1982.[2]

The group scored several minor hits on the country charts, but their label wanted to market them more as a pop-country act in the vein of Alabama. They moved to Atlantic Records to focus more on country chart success, but as they prepared 1984's Day By Day, keyboardist Tebes Douglass was killed in a car crash. Soon after, Bobby Gene McNelley left the group to pursue a solo career as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1985, McGuffey Lane was dropped from Atlantic. In 1986, they released a Christmas album in support of the Central Ohio Lung Association; toward the end of that year, they inked a sponsorship with Miller Beer, but a planned comeback fizzled.

The group played into the late 1980s but had dissolved by 1990. In 1995, they reunited after releasing a greatest hits album, and continued performing locally in Ohio into the 2000s. Two full-length releases followed the reunion, in 1998 and 2002. On August 18, 2009, they opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd at The LC in Columbus, Ohio. In March 2010, Lick Records signed a distribution deal with E1 Entertainment, which allows the new McGuffey Lane album to be sold in Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

Zachariah's Red Eye Reunion

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Every January, McGuffey Lane holds an annual reunion concert featuring many acts who also played at Zachariah's Red Eye Saloon. The first two reunions were held at Villa Milano Banquet and Conference Center, located on Schrock Road on the northeast side of Columbus, Ohio. After the initial two events, John Schwab (who is the organizer of the event) started looking for a larger venue to host the reunion concert, as it had outgrown Villa Milano. He settled on Lifestyles Communities Pavilion (now KEMBA Live!). The 2013 Reunion currently holds the indoor attendance record at the LC. The fourteenth anniversary took place on January 25, 2014.

Some acts who have taken part in the event are: Rob McNelly (son of original lead singer Bobby Gene McNelly and current guitarist for Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band), John David Call (steel guitarist for Pure Prairie League), Steve Smith, Gary Ballen, Delyn Christian, Tom Ingham, the Dan Orr Project, Cliff Cody, Grassanine, and Erica Blinn.

Members

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  • Terry Efaw – Steel guitar, gutstring guitar, electric guitar
  • Steve Reis – Bass, vocals
  • Molly Pauken- Mandolin, acoustic guitar, vocals
  • Randy Huff – Drums, vocals
  • Kevin Reed- Harmonica, vocals
  • John Schwab – Lead guitar, lead vocals
  • Mike Nugen – Lead guitar, vocals(select dates)

Former members

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  • Bobby Gene McNelly – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Stephen "Tebes" Douglass – Keyboards, harmonica, vocals
  • Dick Smith – Drums, guitar, vocals
  • Dave Rangeler – Drums, vocals
  • Tom Ingham – Acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Delyn Christian – Harmonica, vocals
  • Casey McKeown – Keyboards
  • Craig Goodwin – Acoustic guitar, vocals
  • John Campigotto – Drums, vocals
  • Dave Robins – Saxophone
  • Joe Pate – Drums, also batman
  • Tammy Walkup- Backing vocals

Discography

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Albums

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Year Title Chart positions Label
US Country US
1980 McGuffey Lane Atco
The First Album
Aqua Dream 193
1983 Let the Hard Times Roll 61
1984 Day by Day 56 Atlantic
1986 McGuffey Lane Christmas HCH
1995 Greatest Hits Live and More
1998 Call Me Lucky Lick
2002 Wood
2010 10
2017 Legend Of The Red Eye

Singles

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Year Title Chart positions Album
US Country US
1981 "Long Time Lovin' You" 85[2] Single only
1982 "Start It All Over" 97[2] Aqua Dream
"Making a Living's Been Killing Me" 44 Let the Hard Times Roll
1983 "Doing It Right" 62
1984 "Day by Day" 44 Day by Day
"The First Time" 63
2011 "Bartender" 10

Album listings

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McGuffey Lane
  1. People Like You
  2. Long Time Lovin' You
  3. Ain't No One (To Love You Like I Do)
  4. Let Me Take You To The Rodeo
  5. Green Country Mountains
  6. Stagecoach
  7. Music Man
  8. Breakaway
  9. Lady Autumn
  10. Stay In Love With You
Aqua Dream
  1. New Beginning
  2. It Comes From The Heart
  3. Dream About You
  4. Tennessee
  5. Don't You Think About Me (When I'm Gone)
  6. Start It All Over
  7. Fair Weather Friends
  8. Fallin' Timber
  9. Bag Of Rags: Black Mountain Rag /Tiger Rag /12th Street Rag(featuring a guest appearance by Charlie Daniels)
  10. Outlaw Rider
Let The Hard Times Roll
  1. Let the Hard Times Toll
  2. Raining Inside and Out
  3. If I Didn't Love You
  4. Too Many Days
  5. Making a Living's Been Killing Me
  6. Doing It Right
  7. Sunshine
  8. You Wouldn't Give Up on Me
  9. If You Were Mine
  10. Never Say Forever
Day By Day
  1. Day by Day
  2. Keep Me Hangin' On
  3. First Time
  4. You've Got a Right
  5. Lorianne
  6. What'll You Do About Me
  7. Wasted Love
  8. Jamaica in My Mind
  9. Hold on to the Night
  10. The Legend
Greatest Hits, Live, and More
  1. Ain't Life Funny
  2. People Like You
  3. Ain't No One (To Love You Like I Do)
  4. Do You Think (We'll Ever Fall In Love)
  5. Diana Might
  6. Outlaw Rider
  7. Let's Hold on to the Night
  8. Long Time Lovin' You
  9. Be a Friend of Mine
  10. Green Country Mountains
  11. The Legend
  12. Rock 'n' Roll (Will Keep You Young)
  13. A New Beginning(Demo)
  14. Leavin' It All Behind(Demo)
  15. Black Mountain Rag(Demo)
Call Me Lucky'
  1. Kid with the Arrow
  2. The Good in Goodbye
  3. There's Only One of Us Now
  4. When I Sing of You
  5. What You've Got
  6. Trains Make Me Lonesome
  7. Call Me Lucky
  8. Baby Don't Call Me Baby (Anymore)
  9. Into the Mystic
  10. The Good Times Tonight
Wood
  1. Old Taylor
  2. Steady As She Goes
  3. Don't You Think About Me
  4. Railroad Song
  5. First Time
  6. It Takes Time
  7. Let's Go
  8. On the Line
  9. Runnin' Wild & Free
  10. Lady Autumn
  11. Nobody But a Fool
  12. Cumberland Gap
  13. 'Til the End
  14. The Omen
10
  1. I Am Who I Am
  2. Bartender
  3. It's A Good Day
  4. You're The One
  5. Lucky Guy
  6. Done With The Devil
  7. I Ain't Giving In To Getting Old
  8. Nobody But A Fool
  9. Song For The Road
  10. Runnin' Blind
Zachariah's Red Eye Reunion DVD
  1. The Railroad Song
  2. Don't you think about me (when I'm gone)
  3. The Boys a Dancer
  4. Wild and Free
  5. Breakaway
  6. Tennessee*
  7. Stagecoach*
  8. Stay (in love with you*
  9. Rasputin
  10. Outlaw Rider
  11. On the Line
  12. Rodeo*
  13. People Like You*
  14. Ain't no one*
  15. Green Country Mountain*
  16. Long Time Loving You*
  17. "Backstage Pass"(video interviews backstage)
  18. "Rock Of Ages" (Music video from 1990)
  19. "Bert" music video from 1994)and 'The First Time" (music video from 1983)
  • Featuring Rob McNelly, son of former lead singer Bobby Gene McNelly

References

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  1. ^ Sandra Brennan. "McGuffey Lane | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  2. ^ a b c "McGuffey Lane | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-02-22.