PHOTO PROVIDED Little River Band will perform 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St.

Bringing their vocal and musical energy along with some cool arrangements to their timeless classic hits, the area is proud to welcome the Little River Band to the stage for the first time, for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St.

Once dubbed “the best singing band in the world” by Eagles founding member, the late Glenn Frey, the Little River Band enjoyed huge chart success through the 1970s and ’80s with multi-platinum albums and chart-topping hits like “Help Is on Its Way,” “Happy Anniversary,” “Reminiscing,” “Lady,” “Lonesome Loser,” “Cool Change,” “The Night Owls,” “Take It Easy on Me,” “Man on Your Mind” and “The Other Guy.”

Originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, the band achieved commercial success, not only in Australia but also in the United States. They achieved ten Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1977 and 1983, with “Reminiscing” their highest, peaking at No. 3 in 1978.

Original members included guitarist Beeb Birtles, lead guitarist Ric Formosa, guitarist Graeham Goble, bassist Roger McLachlan, drummer Derek Pellicci and lead vocalist Glenn Shorrock. Most of the group’s 1970s and 1980s material was written by Goble and/or Shorrock, with contributions from Birtles, David Briggs (who replaced Formosa) and Pellicci.

Now based in Nashville, the band’s current lineup includes bassist, lead vocalist and bandleader Wayne Nelson; Australian guitarist and vocalist Greg Hind; keyboardist and vocalist Chris Marion; lead guitarist and vocalist Rich Herring; and Ryan Ricks on drums, percussion and vocals. In addition to playing bass, Nelson was the lead singer of the band’s hit “The Night Owls,” which rose to No. 6 on the Billboard Chart in November 1981.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950, Nelson recalls his first musical memory, singing in church at age 3 or 4, standing with the men in the choir and next to his dad singing in the bass section.

“I was a boy soprano, so that was a little odd,” he said. “That was kind of the formation of my love for bass and the lower register of the musical spectrum.”

Nelson’s dad also was a drum major in college, so there was everything from Broadway and classical music to military marches in their home over the weekends.

“There was just a ton of exposure to music and most of it was majestic — I was just immersed in it,” he said. “I didn’t get turned onto pop music on the radio until probably my early teens, and then I started listening to vocal bands — the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys, the Hollies, the Beatles. So that was my progression through different musical styles.”

Little River Band’s longest standing member to date, Nelson, moved to Los Angeles in 1978, and afterward worked and toured with several artists, including Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina. While in Messina’s band and opening for Little River Band, LRB’s management invited Nelson to join the Australian band, and he officially became a member in April 1980.

Nelson had rehearsed and recorded with Messina’s band and prepared to go out on the road. The only major touring the band did were the two weeks they opened for Little River Band, while they were creating their double live album in 1979 — half of it in America and half in Australia.

“Without me knowing it, Little River Band was looking for a new bass player; and if they could find a new bass player who could sing and help with vocals, that was a bonus,” Nelson said. “They were checking me out during the course of those two weeks and made the offer to join the band. So, I was in the right place at the right time.”

When Little River Band went into the studio to record their 1981 album “Time Exposure,” the geography of the band, personalities and changes in musical ideas was turning them in a new direction.

“The only person who didn’t live in Melbourne was Glenn (Shorrock), who lived in Sydney,” Nelson said. “Glenn was the more spontaneous person in the band, and rehearsals were not his thing. He just didn’t like reworking things and that whole process. So, he avoided rehearsals until the very last minute.”

One of the writers in the band was looking for a different lead singer to interpret his songs, so he brought his song “The Night Owls” to rehearsal and Shorrock wasn’t there. Nelson sang a rough track of the song, and the band felt that the song suited Nelson’s voice better.

“The first time it went on stage, Glenn and I split the lead vocal — he sang a verse and I sang a verse,” Nelson said. “Then everybody just agreed that ‘The Night Owls’ is Wayne’s song. So that’s the way it got recorded, and it came out as the first single.”

After taking a break from Little River Band in the late ’90s, Nelson returned to the group in 2000, beginning the next chapter of the band making Little River Band music.

“I think it was very important to do that, as I had been there for the vast majority of the changes,” he said. You know quickly when somebody comes in who has the right personality and also brings that new thing to the band, but also respects the vocals. The vocals are a major part of what we do.”

Slowly but surely, the band has kept building, testing the waters and making new music, and is now doing 80-90 shows a year.

“We do new music as we should, and we put on a great show because it means a lot to people, and it means a lot to us,” Nelson said. “It’s in a really good place right now.”

Little River Band’s worldwide album, CD sales and digital downloads now top 30 million. In the early 1980s, the band set a record for having had Top 10 hits for six consecutive years — becoming the very first band to achieve that remarkable feat.

“When you think about the company of people who had never done it before, you’re talking about Elvis, the Stones, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Motown,” Nelson said. “The history of music up until 1982-83 was just remarkable, and Little River Band set that mark first. I’m sure it’s been passed since with modern pop artists, but it was quite an amazing milestone for the band.”

In 2004, LRB was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards. In September 2015, the band was awarded Casino Entertainer of the Year at the G2E Gaming Expo in Las Vegas Nevada.

Early 2014 saw the release of an album of all new material with “Cuts Like a Diamond,” released on Frontiers Records. The single “What If You’re Wrong” peaked at No. 1 for three weeks on CLASSX Radio, while “Forever You, Forever Me,” and “You Dream, I’ll Drive” both climbed into the station’s TOP 3.

In November 2016, Little River Band released “The Hits … Revisited” on Wurld Records — a CD consisting of nine re-recorded hits along with two new songs. In May, the band released “The Big Box” — a box set consisting of six discs featuring a DVD with live footage from their 40th Anniversary Tour.

The band has received some unfair criticism from fans over the years, as they no longer have any original members. As the only remaining link to the roots of the band, Nelson said he questions anyone being able to find any classic rock band that is now traveling with enough original founding members to make them happy.

“Everybody changes — it really is that simple and straightforward,” he said. “To be a part of that history going all that way back — if you can successfully honor it and keep it moving forward, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to reinvent it, we’re just trying to present it the way we play and sing and honor the history — that’s the goal.”