Point Blank (band)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Point Blank was an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band hailing from Irving,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States. The band formed in 1974 in Irving, Texas, and recorded six
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s between 1974 and 1982. Garnering occasional airplay on AOR radio stations, the band is best known for their only
hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...
, "Nicole", from 1981. Point Blank broke up in 1983.


History

The band was discovered and managed by
Bill Ham Billy Mack Ham (February 4, 1937 – June 20, 2016) was an American music impresario, best known as the manager, producer, and image-maker for the blues-rock band ZZ Top. Ham also gained prominence in the country music world by discovering and m ...
's Lone Wolf Productions (
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
, and Eric Johnson). The original six albums were recorded in Memphis with engineer/producer
Terry Manning Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...
. Point Blank's sound is rooted in
southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...
and
boogie Boogie is a repetition (music), repetitive, swung note, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . groove (music), "groove" or pattern used in blues which was origina ...
, but drifted towards
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and mainstream AOR by the early 1980s. In 1981, they released their fifth album, ''American Exce$$'', which included the hit single "Nicole". With strong air-play on AOR radio stations the track reached #20 on
Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...
's Rock Tracks. Subsequently, "Nicole" was also released as a 45 RPM single and peaked inside the
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
, at #39 on ''Billboard'''s
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, before quickly dropping off the charts. In their heyday they were known for playing more than 200 shows per year. In 1983 the band broke up. 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. Guitarist Kim Davis died on October 18, 2010, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, aged 58. James Russell Burns, better known as Rusty Burns, died in Denver from lung cancer on February 19, 2016, aged 63. The singer and a founding member, John O'Daniel, died from cancer on November 17, 2018; he was 70. Drummer, Richard Heaton is the last living original member of Point Blank. ie: Irving Daily News 1975. Richard was known for his powerful playing, distinctive sound, and his early influence with other band members.


Discography


Albums

*''
Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm or gun can hit a target without the need to elevate the barrel to compensate for bullet drop, i.e. the gun can be pointed horizontally at the target. For targets beyond-blank range ...
'' (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

*''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

*Bold = Original members 1974 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *Phillip Petty - Bass *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Richard Heaton– Drums 1975 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *Phillip Petty - Bass *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Richard Heaton– Drums 1976 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Buzzy Gruen – Drums *Phillip Petty - Bass 1979 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Buzzy Gruen – Drums *Bill Randolph – Bass *
Steve Hardin Stephen Joseph Hardin (October 27, 1946 – June 28, 2015) was an American songwriter, keyboardist, and harmonica and clavinet player. He was probably best known as the writer of top-ten country hits "I Love My Truck" (#10, Glen Campbell) and ...
– Keyboards 1980 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Buzzy Gruen – Drums *Bill Randolph – Bass 1981 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *Kim Davis – Guitar *Buzzy Gruen – Drums *Bill Randolph – Bass *Bubba Keith – Vocals *Mike Hamilton – Keyboards 2005 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Phillip Petty – Bass *Buzzy Gruen – Drums 2007 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Phillip Petty – Bass *Mike Gage – Drums *Buddy Whittington – Guitar *Jeff Williams – Piano 2007 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Phillip Petty – Bass *David Crockett – Drums *Buddy Whittington – Guitar *Larry Telford – Keyboards 2008 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Phillip Petty – Bass *David Crockett – Drums *Mouse Mayes – Guitar *Larry Telford – Keyboards 2012 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Mouse Mayes – Guitar *Larry Telford – Keyboards *Kirk Powers – Bass *Greg Hokanson – Drums 2014 *Rusty Burns – Guitar *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Mouse Mayes – Guitar *Larry Telford – Keyboards *Kirk Powers – Bass *Mike Gage – Drums 2016 *John O'Daniel – Vocals *Mouse Mayes – Guitar *Larry Telford – Keyboards *Kirk Powers – Bass *Greg Hokanson – Drums


References


External links


The Official Point Blank BIO
{{Authority control American southern rock musical groups Rock music groups from Texas Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Hard rock musical groups from Texas Heavy metal musical groups from Texas