Ī road sign to Little River, on a trip by the fledgling band from Melbourne to Geelong, inspired Glenn Shorrock to suggest the band nameĪfter their return to Australia, the members began rehearsing in February 1975, still using the name of Mississippi. Wheatley's first-hand experiences of the rip-offs in the 1960s music scene, combined with working in music management in the UK and the US in the early 1970s, allowed him to help the Little River Band become the first Australian group to enjoy consistent commercial and chart success in the US. Due to the indifferent reception they had each received in the UK, they decided their new band would establish itself in the United States.
With Wheatley as manager, they agreed to reconvene in Melbourne in early 1975.
In late 1974, Birtles, Goble, Pellicci and Shorrock met with talent manager Glenn Wheatley (former bass player of the Masters Apprentices) in London. He also provided backing vocals for Cliff Richard. Axiom disbanded after moving to the UK, and Shorrock sang for a more progressive rock outfit, Esperanto, in 1973. Both Axiom and Mississippi had relocated to the United Kingdom to try to break into the local record market, but without success. Shorrock had been the lead singer of a pop band, the Twilights (1964–69), and a country rock group, Axiom, from 1969 to 1971 (alongside singer-songwriter Brian Cadd). They achieved a number-one hit, for eight consecutive weeks, on the Go-Set National Top 40 with a novelty cover version of the Rays' song " Daddy Cool".
During 1971 to 1972 the original members of Mississippi had also recorded as a studio band under the pseudonym Drummond. They had chart success in Australia and built up a following on the concert and festival circuit. They relocated to Melbourne and in 1972 were renamed as Mississippi, a harmony country rock band, where late that year Birtles joined on guitar and vocals and Pellicci on drums. Goble had led Adelaide-formed folk rock group Allison Gros in 1970. Birtles had been the bass guitarist and vocalist in the pop-rock band Zoot (which launched the career of singer-guitarist Rick Springfield) from 1967 to 1971. Upon formation they were an Australian super group, with Birtles, Goble, Pellicci and Shorrock each from prominent local bands. Little River Band formed in March 1975 in Melbourne as a harmony rock group with Beeb Birtles on guitar and vocals, Graham Davidge on lead guitar, Graeham Goble on guitar and vocals, Dave Orams on bass guitar, Derek Pellicci on drums and Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals. Various legal disputes over the band's name occurred in the 2000s, with Housden filing suit against Birtles, Goble and Shorrock. The current line-up is Nelson, Chris Marion, Ryan Ricks, Colin Whinnery and Bruce Wallace – none of whom are Australian. In the 1980s, members included Farnham, Wayne Nelson, Stephen Housden, David Hirschfelder and Steve Prestwich. None of the musicians now performing as Little River Band are original members, nor members in the 1970s. The group have undergone numerous personnel changes, with over 30 members since their formation, including John Farnham as lead singer after Shorrock first departed in 1982. "Reminiscing", written by Goble, received a 5-Million Broadcast Citation from BMI in 2020. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, named " Cool Change", written by Shorrock, as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. Most of the group's 1970s and 1980s material was written by Goble and/or Shorrock, Birtles and Briggs. The 1976 line-up of Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles, George McArdle, David Briggs and Derek Pellicci were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards of 2004. Little River Band have received many music awards in Australia. Ten singles reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with " Reminiscing" their highest, peaking at No. 3. Nine singles appeared in the top 20 on the related singles chart, with " Help Is on Its Way" (1977) as their only number-one hit. They have sold more than 30 million records six studio albums reached the top 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart including Diamantina Cocktail (May 1977) and First Under the Wire (July 1979), which both peaked at No. 2. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States.
Little River Band ( LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia in March 1975.
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