John Townsend

Founder and lead singer of the Sanford/Townsend Band, John Townsend redefined Southern rock with his move from Tuscaloosa to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.

While he will always be best known for his band’s Top 10 hit, “Smoke From A Distant Fire,” Townsend amassed a significant number of hits for other popular artists, including Loggins & Messina’s “Peacemaker” and “Wasting Our Time,” Kenny Loggins’s “Lady Luck,” Larry Carlton’s “In My Blood” and “The Magician,” and Greg Allman’s “Fear Of Falling.”