Point Blank was an American rock band hailing from Irving, Texas, United States. The band formed in 1974 in Irving, Texas, and recorded six albums between 1974 and 1982.
[1] Garnering occasional airplay on AOR radio stations, the band is best known for their only hit single, "Nicole", from 1981. Point Blank broke up in 1983.
Point Blank | |
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 Circa 1974 |
History
editThe band was discovered and managed by Bill Ham's Lone Wolf Productions (ZZ Top, and Eric Johnson). The original six albums were recorded in Memphis with engineer/producer Terry Manning. Point Blank's sound is rooted in southern rock and boogie, but drifted towards hard rock and mainstream AOR by the early 1980s.[1] In 1981, they released their fifth album, American Exce$$,[1] which included the hit single "Nicole". With strong air-play on AOR radio stations the track reached #20 on Billboard Magazine's Rock Tracks. Subsequently, "Nicole" was also released as a 45 RPM single and peaked inside the Top 40, at #39 on Billboard's Hot 100, before quickly dropping off the charts. In their heyday they were known for playing more than 200 shows per year. In 1984, the band broke up.[2]
In late 2009, Point Blank released Fight On!, their first studio album in 27 years. Both the Reloaded and Fight On! albums were released on the Dixiefrog label.[3]
Guitarist Kim Davis died on October 18, 2010, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, aged 58.[4]
James Russell Burns, better known as Rusty Burns, died in Denver from lung cancer on February 19, 2016, aged 63.[5]
The singer and a founding member, John O'Daniel, died from cancer on November 17, 2018; he was 70.[6]
Discography
editAlbums
edit- Point Blank (Arista, 1976) (US #175)
- Second Season (Arista, 1977)
- Airplay (MCA, 1979) (US #175)
- The Hard Way (MCA, 1980) (US #110)
- American Exce$$ (MCA, 1981) (US #80)
- On A Roll (MCA, 1982) (US #119)
- Reloaded (Dixiefrog, 2006)
- Fight On! (Dixiefrog, 2009)
- Volume 9 (Fairway, 2014)
- Very Best (2019)
Singles
edit- Let Me Stay With You Tonight (1981) (US #117, US Rock #38)
- Nicole (1981) (US #39, US Rock #20)
- On a Roll (1982) (US Rock #27)
- Let Her Go (1982) (US #109)
- Great White Line (1982) (US Rock #34)
Members
edit- Bold = Original members
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1979
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1980
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1981
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2005
2007
2007
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2012
2014
2016
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References
edit- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 278. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
- ^ Breznikar, Klemen (June 21, 2011). "Point Blank Interview with John O'Daniel & Rusty Burns". It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ "Point Blank". Dixiefrog Records. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ "The Loss of Kim Davis – News from southeastern Connecticut". The Day. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Christian, McPhate (February 22, 2016). "Rusty Burns, ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan Collaborator, Has Died". Dallas Observer. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Tribute for John Edward O'Daniel". Wayne Boze Funeral Home. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
External links
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