Song:Nicole
Album:American Exce$$/On a Roll
Point Blank should remind you of Southern fried rock groups like ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They weren't as successful though Nicole was a top 40 pop hit in 1981. The ZZ Top connection is not a coincidence as they were managed and produced by Bill Ham who also managed ZZ Top. Point Blank are from Irving, TX. They were formed in 1974 by lead singer John O'Daniel and Rusty Burns and Kim Davis on guitar. The bass and drums changed quite a bit. By the time Nicole was a hit in 1981, Bill Randolph played bass and Buzzy Gruen played drums. After Ham started managing Point Blank, they signed with Arista Records around the same time another Southern rock group Outlaws signed with Arista. The problem was Point Blank was not as successful as Outlaws and Arista dropped them after two albums. They signed with MCA Records and Point Blank went to a more mainstream rock sound. Nicole reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Point Blank was mainly known for constant touring usually opening for ZZ Top and similar bands. But they weren't a headliner. After the 1982 album On a Roll didn't sell, they decided to split up. American Exce$$ and On a Roll are available as a twofer CD. O'Daniel and Burns reformed Point Blank in 2005. They released new music in 2009 and then in 2014 through Kickstarter. Burns died in 2016 and then O'Daniel died in 2018. I guess that is the end for Point Blank. Here's Point Blank performing Nicole at Cardies in Houston July 4, 1983.
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