Sanford & Townsend

Best remembered for their ubiquitous 1977 pop hit "Smoke from a Distant Fire," blue-eyed soul duo Sanford & Townsend reunited Ed Sanford and John Townsend, who previously teamed in the Montgomery, AL-based Warner Bros. act the Heart. Despite a series of opening gigs in support of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the group's lone LP attracted little notice and after the Heart dissolved, both Sanford and Townsend migrated to Los Angeles, where the latter signed on with the group Feather and scored a chart hit with the White Whale label single "Friends." After renewing ties in L.A., ...