Jim Messina (born December 5, 1947) was a member of Buffalo Springfield, then an original member of the country rock band Poco, before he joined with Kenny Loggins to form Loggins and Messina.
While with Buffalo Springfield, he served as a recording engineer, producer, and eventually as a bass player (he replaced Bruce Palmer) on the last album.
Messina and Richie Furay, another Buffalo Springfield member, formed Poco after Buffalo Springfield broke up. Messina played lead guitar and supplied vocals and some songwriting to the band. After two albums, Messina left Poco.
After Poco, Messina was with Columbia Records, serving as an independent producer when he met Kenny Loggins. Messina and Loggins worked together on what was to be Loggins' first album. In the course of producing Loggins' work, Messina provided backup vocals and guitar work. Eventually, the two decided to put out the album as "Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In".
Loggins and Messina went on to make a number of popular albums. In 1976, the duo split: Loggins felt he had learned all he could from his "mentor" Messina and wanted to strike out on his own. Both went on to solo careers. Messina made some albums that did not make much of a splash, but Loggins' solo career took off. Messina, however, kept busy as a painter and as a songwriting coach. He now runs the successful Jim Messina's Songwriters' Performance Workshop.
In 2005, Loggins and Messina reconnected and decided to hit the road as a duo again. The result was a successful nationwide tour that produced the CD and DVD "Loggins and Messina Sittin' In Again."
