I just joined this group because I followed all the country rock groups of the early 70's and had a slightly enhanced perspective as John Michael Talbot and Tim Ayers of the group Mason Proffit were kids in the junior high we attended on the eastern outskirt of Indianapolis, IN. It was a year later (1969) that their first album "Wanted" was released- when JMT was 15 and T-Bone (Tim Ayers) was 16 years old. It featured the tunes "Two Hangen" and "Its Alright". The similarity of "Its Alright" and the Eagles first hit "Take It Easy" were palpable. Mason Proffit shamelessly melded rock with Bluegrass (and every other uniquely American influence)- the banjo and a hard rock rhythm section hadn't really been tried before. Can you name an example? When I first heard "Take It Easy" in 1972 the MP influence was unmistakeable. I am not a musician but all my musician friends would comment when I would turn them on to Mason Proffit that their tuning and chord structuring was very unique. JMT and Terry Talbot wanted to record with Leland Sklar and Russ Kunkle for their 6th album as they felt they had a better feel for accompanying acoustic arrangements- no doubt artistically valid from their perspective but the result lacked the dynamics of drummer Art Nash and bassist Tim Ayers. Art and Tim had definite chops and the skills and groove of the fusion jazz/rock players that were about to emerge. It is very important to note that in 1974 the Talbot Brothers (JMT and Terry Talbot) toured extensively with the Eagles not just as an opening act. They were covering the aforementioned 6th album. Yes, they would open with an acoustic set but the Eagles members would gradually add to the set, meld completely, the Talbots would leave, then re-emerge for the encore songs. The touring no doubt led to a great deal of jamming and sharing. Prior to Mason Proffit, the group was known as the Sounds Unlimited and covered the entire 1960s waterfront, and as a ballad is a ballad, "Two Hangman" also sounded a little like Donovan's "Atlantis" to me. Pull up MP's "Its Alright" on youtube and you may wonder why there isn't more discussion on it in terms of being a seminal influence....