Little River Band is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1975 and named after a road sign for the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong They were the first Australian rock group to enjoy sustained commercial success in the United States During their career the band have sold more than 25 million records and scored 13 American Top 40 hitsWhile fronted by singer John Farnham from 1982–1986, the band's original members were Glenn Shorrock (vocals), Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles and Ric Formosa (guitars and vocals), Roger McLachlan (bass) and Derek Pellicci (drums)The group evolved from the harmony-rock group Mississippi in 1975 Prior to that, Birtles had been the bassist in 1960s pop band Zoot (which also included singer-guitarist Rick Springfield), and Shorrock had been the lead singer of leading Australian 60s pop band The Twilights and early 1970s country rock band AxiomThey found immediate success in Australia, but individual members had greater ambitions Like many other Australasian groups of the period, both Axiom and Mississippi had tried to break into the UK record market without success Remembering the indifferent reaction they had received in the UK, they decided the new band would focus on establishing themselves in the United StatesA key factor in their eventual success was their manager Glenn Wheatley, who had been the bassist in the highly-regarded Australian rock band The Masters Apprentices
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