Named after a street in their hometown of Athens, Ohio, the group was hoping to cash in on the success of groups like Alabama, The Eagles and Poco, but they seemed to be dogged by changing public tastes and extremely bad luck.
Upon signing with Atco, and with the release of Let The Hard Times Roll, the group made a conscious effort to be marketed as a country group. The success of Alabama, whose style was similar, should have secured the band a much bigger response, but it was not meant to be.
Into 1983, things started to unravel for the band. They recorded Day By Day, the follow up to Let The Hard Times Roll, but just as the album was being completed, Tebes Douglass died in a car accident. The album faired poorly, sales-wise, and shortly thereafter McNelley left to become a Nashville-based songwriter. In early 1987, he had a heated argument with his fiance, shooting her, and then killing himself.
By 1990, McGuffey Lane had split up. It would be nearly six years before a new version of the band, spearheaded by John Schwab and Terry Efaw, resumed performing. They have since recorded two albums.