Mason Proffit

Mason Proffit
Origin	Champaign, Illinois, US
Genres	Folk rock
Years active	1969–1973
Labels	Happy Tiger, Ampex, Warner
Website	www.masonproffit.com
Past members	Terry Talbot, John Michael Talbot, Tim Ayers, Art Nash, Ron Schuetter, Bruce Kurnow, Bill Cunningham

Mason Proffit was a folk rock band from Champaign, Illinois that released five albums between 1969 and 1973.

Brothers Terry Talbot and John Michael Talbot played together in several local bands around Indianapolis, Indiana and later in Chicago. After their group Sounds Unlimited disbanded, in 1969 they formed Mason Proffit with a focus on the emerging blend of folk, country and rock that would come to be called country rock. Older brother Terry's "Two Hangmen" from their first album Wanted... Mason Proffit, became a regional hit and helped their second album, Movin' Toward Happiness, chart on the Billboard 200. In 1972, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records and continued touring, performing up to 300 concerts each year. Some of Mason Proffit's opening acts during that time included The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, John Denver, and Mac Davis. Their country-rock-bluegrass style was innovative yet difficult to place in a marketing genre. Their live shows were high energy. And once, while jamming with The Scruggs Review, John Hartford and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Earl Scruggs called John Talbot "the best banjo player I've ever heard." Warner Bros. re-released their first two albums as a compilation called Come And Gone plus two more discs, Rockfish Crossing and Bareback Rider. Mason Proffit disbanded when brothers John and Terry Talbot left the band and began performing as a duo. Warners then released The Talbot Bros., the first of three duo albums with the remaining two released on Sparrow Records. Sparrow eventually re-issued the first Talbot Bros. album, minus the track "Moline Truckin."

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