Founded by Nils Lofgren in the late '60s as a vehicle for his fleet guitar mastery and underrated songwriting skills, Grin began as a trio with bassist Bob Gordon and drummer Bob Berberich and later grew to a quartet featuring Lofgren's brother Tom. After playing piano on Neil Young's AFTER THE GOLDRUSH, Lofgren and Co. signed to a Columbia subsidiary in 1971 and released four albums of very inventive, high octane country-rock that mesmerized critics but commercially fizzled. Still critically admired, the band was dropped in 1974, but Lofgren soldiered on with a successful solo career and as a sideman for Neil Young and as a member of Springsteen's E Street Band.