Feb 10, 2015

The Mystery Man of the Little River Band

I happened upon this picture on the internet.  A shirtless hippie, short, beautifully sculpted, standing in a group of his mates. The caption read: "Russ Johnson, Mississippi."

Ok, I figured it was some guys from Mississippi, one of them named Russ Johnson.

Turns that an Australian rock band got its start as Allison Gros in 1970, changed its name to Mississippi in 1972, and broke up in 1975.

They released an album and five singles, most not particularly heterosexist.  Like "Kings of the World," which reached #7 on Australian charts in 1972: 

Robbers on the highway, beggars in the street
Everyone is lonely, no one is tryin' to meet


But wait -- here's another picture of the same guy, except it's captioned Derek Pellicci.

When Mississippi split up in 1975, he became one of the founders of the Little River Band.

They hit #3 on U.S. charts in 1978 with "Reminiscing", about growing old together:

When we're old, we'll go dancing in the dark, 
Walking through the park, and reminiscing

I was around in 1978, but I don't remember any of their other hits.






Here's the Little River Band in 1978, taken directly from Glen Horrock's website.  Derek Pellicci is in the middle.   Definitely not the muscular hippie in the top photo: his hair is too dark, and he has a hairy chest.

So who is the mystery man of the Little River Band?

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