The band was formed in 1983 with former
Doobie Brothers members
Keith Knudsen and
John McFee and bassist
Jerry Scheff. Additional founding members include
Tim Goodman on vocals and keyboardist
Glen Hardin. The group signed with
Warner Bros. Records in 1984 through which their debut album,
Southern Pacific was released the following year. Scheff left after the album debuted and was replaced by
Stu Cook of
Creedence Clearwater Revival, while Kurt Howell replaced Hardin on keyboards. Cook and Howell would join the others in the release of
Killbilly Hill in 1986. This album would feature the cover of
Bruce Springsteen's "
Pink Cadillac". Goodman left after the second album to pursue a solo career and was replaced by
David Jenkins (formerly of
Pablo Cruise) in 1987 in time for the production of the group's third album
Zuma (1988) where their highest ranking single "New Shade of Blue" was included. Jenkins left after
Zuma and the group remained a quartet for the final album
County Line (1990) which included the single "Any Way The Wind Blows" that was used in the
Pink Cadillac soundtrack and film that same year.
County Line also featured a guest appearance from
The Beach Boys on backing vocals on a cover of "
GTO" by the Beach Boys' contemporaries
Ronny & the Daytonas. Southern Pacific covered the
Roky Erickson song "It's a Cold Night For Alligators" for the tribute album
Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson. (Cook had produced more than a dozen of Erickson's songs in 1979, which became Erickson's album
The Evil One.) The group disbanded and Warner Bros. released their
Greatest Hits album in 1991. After Southern Pacific's breakup, Knudsen and McFee and Cook formed the super group, Jackdawg, and recorded one album. Subsequently both McFee and Knudsen returned to The Doobie Brothers (who had already reunited in 1987). Knudsen died in 2005 while McFee continues to tour with The Doobies. Cook toured with fellow Creedence Clearwater Revival band member
Doug Clifford with the group Cosmo's Factory (now
Creedence Clearwater Revisited). Goodman continued to tour and record with The Magic Music Band and his solo project, The Tim Goodman Band. Howell formed his own music group, called
Burnin' Daylight. This group also included former
Exile member Sonny LeMaire and Nashville songwriter Marc Beeson. Southern Pacific's four studio albums were reissued in 2003 by specialty label
Wounded Bird Records in two double-CD packages. Cook was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1993. Both Knudsen (posthumous) and McFee were inducted with the Doobie Brothers in 2020. ==Band members==