Jim Messina

Being associated with one supergroup is an achievement, two, is a miracle. Being an integral part of three supergroups means you’re Jim Messina, who has been making music for five decades.

Messina grew up traveling between his mother’s home in Texas and his father’s in California. His father was a semi-professional guitarist who had a huge influence on his son’s career path. The younger Messina began playing the guitar at 5, and by the time he was in high school, he had formed a group called Jim Messina & His Jesters that won local competitions.

For years, Messina worked as a producer and sound engineer. Then came the final album of the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame group Buffalo Springfield. He ended up playing bass on it, and the rest is rock history. When Buffalo Springfield disbanded, he and bandmate Richie Furay founded Poco. With Messina on lead guitar, Poco helped define a new genre, country rock.

After three successful albums, Jim Messina returned to his passion for producing. Columbia Records asked him to work with an unknown musician named Kenny Loggins and the two discovered they worked well together. Messina sat in on Loggins’ first album and an “accidental duo” was born. Over the next seven years, Loggins & Messina released eight hit albums, had scores of hit songs, and sold more than 16 million albums before going their separate ways. With hits like “Danny’s Song,” “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “House of Pooh Corner,” and “Angry Eyes,” Loggins & Messina became one of rock’s most successful duos ever.

Messina spent many years as a solo artist, occasionally putting together a band of acclaimed artists to perform with him. He has also run intensive workshops for prospective songwriters, bringing his decades of experience to others. His latest band, The Road Runners, is heard on his 2025 recording, Here, There, & Everywhere. The band consists of Steve Nieves on saxophone and woodwinds, Jim Frazier on Keyboard and guitar, Ben King on bass, and Jack Bruno on drums. They tour the country and Jim Messina is enjoying discovering who he is, where he’s been, and, most significantly, where he’s going. So far, it’s been an amazing journey. Come join him.