Loved Poco since ‘72.
So sad about Rusty...
Thanks for the beautiful music.

A band to remember! A good feeling to know!
I received a call from a long lost friend I hadn’t seen in 45 years this week! He was coming for a short visit.
Upon his arrival sitting outside on a lovely Vermont spring afternoon near a blooming magnolias tree,
After a very short catching up he asked me ; I hate to ask you but did you hear about Rusty’s? Passing ? I listen to Poco a lot...still after 50 years .I Remember nights in the park in Boston, a birthday concert at my college
in Ohio: First hearing Rusty’s electric dobro in NYC Central Park playing a right along and the fabulous encore let’s dance . The band has been a part of my life since I was 15 years old, and I feel this loss like many here like the loss of an old friendPico was something special, and Rusty Young was special too, thanks for music!

I’m just so sad..... R.I.P. Rusty.....

My very first live concert was POCO . 1970 at the University of Hartford.
I was fortunate enough to see many different shapes of the band over the years and watch Rusty push his talents to the extreme to make up for lost members. His voice and pedal steel are unforgettable.
RIP Rusty.

So sad to hear of Rusty's death - his pedal steel playing was simply brilliant in the Richie days and his songs were pretty damn good too. Poco literally changed my life - I heard Deliverin' just after it came out and was stunned by how great and how exciting this music was. I've listened to a lot of country rock and Americana since then always hoping to hear something as thrilling as that first time I heard Rusty's steel on Grand Junction - I'm still waiting. There are a lot of great steel players out there but for me he was and always will be the best - listen to his parts on Bad Weather and try not to cry. I feel today as though someone close to me is gone - that's how important Poco's music has been to me down so many years. I was 14 when I first heard Rusty's playing and I'm 64 now - the music he made with Poco is the soundtrack to my life. I'm devastated. Rest in Peace.

God bless you and keep you close in Heaven, Rusty! And may He give comfort to Mary and your family. I only got to see Poco once in the 70s and was absolutely blown away and have been a big fan ever since. I never got to meet Rusty, although I feel like I’ve known him all my life through his music. I will always cherish the handwritten lyrics I ordered from Rusty of one of my favorite songs “All the Ways.” Yes, Mary, Rusty did have beautiful handwriting! Long live the Legacy and the Legend!

I first heard of Poco in the summer of 1975. My first LP ever purchased was Head Over Heals. I was hooked. So much so that I went right back out and bought their Greatest Hits LP, the one with the silk jacket and the horseshoe logo. My next stop was the arts & crafts shop, where I picked up some embroidery thread. Before long, I had recreated that logo on the back of a jeans shirt I adored throughout five years of architecture school at Virginia Tech. So many of their albums accompanied me on that journey. I felt it all along that among all of these talented musicians, there was an underlying form of utter excellence. It took many years of being a devoted Poconut to discover that it was really Rusty who gave the band the continuity of the perfect mix of country and rock elements that made every song so enjoyable and memorable. Anytime you can put a record on repeat and listen over and over to the same song, at any volume, and consistently hear nuances that you never noticed before... that is musical brilliance at its best. Once a fan, always a fan... to say the least, I am grateful for the times I witnessed their prowess live, for that is where they always excelled, and as all of this great music continues to echo through the canyons of my soul, I am thankful for Rusty... in many ways an unsung hero of some of the best sounds a human can create... in his passing, I observe the outpouring of emotions that he alone justifies. He lives in the heart of all this marvelous music and will continue to find followers far into tomorrow.

How sad...I have been a Poco fan since I was 8, and I am 59 now. In 2012 I travelled from The Netherlands all the way to Scranton Pensylvania to see Rusty perform. It was amazing, and I even shook his hand! His music helped me through the roughest times in my life. The world has lost a great guy and amazing artist, but his music will live on forever; not only in the USA, but all over the world. Thank you Rusty, may you rest in peace.

I cannot believe that I am writing these comments because of the passing of Rusty Young who has carried on as the Poco flag waver since the very beginning. Having seen Poco almost since the very beginning in many different configurations the one constant was Rusty Young. Often overshadowed early on by some of the bigger names Poco had like Richey Furey, Jim Messina, Randy Meisner and Timothy B Schmit Rusty was the one who provided the Hit Song that Poco always craved. He kept the band going every time someone else moved on to greener pursuits. I was lucky enough to see them many times through the years but one of the most memorable was about 12 years ago in New York at the Jones Beach Amphitheater. Poco with Paul Cotton were joined by Richie Furey and were opening for Loggins and Messina. What a great show for both bands and to top off the night Jim Messina joined Poco and played You Better Think Twice. Just incredible to see 3 of the original guys playing together again.
Rest In Peace Rusty your talent and your charm will surely be missed.
Marty Siegel
Palm Coast, Fl

As I'm typing I am holding back a flood of tears; how can this possibly be? This incredibly talented, down to earth, special man taken away from you and us. I had the privilege and opportunity of meeting THE POCO lineup several times at The Ramshead in Annapolis. Even better of grooving, and soaring to the magic that was POCO performed live. That magic is now lessened by the loss of so great a talent. I have to thank the Eagles for existing-in reading about them I learned of POCO (in the 70's) and have been an ardent fan for decades.
One humorous aside: my husband and I happened to enter the area where the sound check was going on. Rusty was walking towards us but on his way out of the area. There was wrinkle in the carpet that I saw and he didn't. I could see he was about to trip-which he did, I leaned forward and he nearly fell into my lap. He leaned back up and before he could say anything I yelled out ARE YOUR HANDS ALRIGHT!!!! He smirked and said they were. Those incredibly talented hands; his loving heart and his great voice - silence. My prayers and condolences to everyone in his family and his friends who will be left with a void in their lives and will be grieving his loss. Hopefully the Honky Tonk upstairs will echo with his playing...