Great name for a group. But the British
influence was huge as the band members all came from the UK or had UK
connections. Gerry Beckley had a British mum and was born in Texas in 1942 and
played with the group The Vanguards in 1962. He spent a lot of time in the UK,
as his father was often stationed there.
Fellow member Dan Peek who was very
influenced by Christian music. He was born in the U.S. but educated in the UK
where he met the other band members. Dan left the group in 1977 and died in 2011
aged 60. He and Dewey Bunnel formed America and produced their debut album in
1971 called America. The album did not do that well, but it did NOT have a
track called A Horse With No Name. It was later added and the album did very
well.
A Horse With No Name went Gold in 1972 and
was written by Dewey. The song was written whilst the band were in Dorset in
the UK, and was inspired by a Salvador Dali painting and Dewey travelling with his
ad through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. The song was banned by a few
stations in the U.S. because of an assumption t was mentioning drugs. But the
single and the album still sold very well, with the album going platinum. The
single went to No. 11 in the UK.
The U.S. follow up was I Need You that went
to No.9 in the Billboard charts. At this point the group all went to live in
California and produced their second album in 1972 called Homecoming which
became a million seller. The group won a Grammy in 1972.
Ventura Highway was the first single from
the album getting to No. 8 in the U.S. charts which is about clouds in the
skies and the shapes they make when you are on a journey.
Sister Golden Hair went to No. 1 in the
U.S. in 1975 and was inspired by Jackson Browne. Other hits followed including
Tin Man that was produced by George Martin of the Beatles fame. The song refers
to the character in Wizard Of Oz. Also from the album Holiday came another U.S.
hit called Lonely People.
In the UK the group only really had one hit
single.
INTERVIEW WITH DAN PEEK
INTERVIEW WITH DAN PEEK
