America

During the opening years of the 1970s, introspective songwriting paired with close-harmony vocals reached its commercial peak. America stood at the mainstream edge of that wave, issuing a succession of singles that sustained radio presence for years afterward. The trio’s first release, “A Horse with No Name,” emerged as a hallucinatory narrative track in the vein of Neil Young and climbed to number one in the United States while achieving global success. Additional singles “I Need You” and “Ventura Highway” contributed to the group’s receipt of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1972. A run of Top Ten singles and albums followed through the mid-1970s, among them “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair,” before the band secured another chart success in 1982 with “You Can Do Magic.”

Vocalists and guitarists Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley first encountered one another as high-school students in the late 1960s; each was the son of a U.S. Air Force officer posted in the United Kingdom. Upon finishing their studies in 1970, they established an acoustic folk-rock quartet called Daze in London, which soon contracted to the trio of Bunnell, Peek, and Beckley. Taking the name America, the musicians secured an arrangement with promoter Jeff Dexter of the Roundhouse concert venue. Dexter arranged support slots for several prominent acts, leading the group to sign with Warner Bros. By autumn 1970 the band was tracking its debut album in London under producers Ian Samwell and Jeff Dexter.

America’s initial single, “A Horse with No Name,” appeared at the close of 1971. In January 1972 the track, which closely echoed Neil Young’s acoustic style, reached number three in the United Kingdom. The self-titled debut album followed the same musical approach and also charted, attaining position 14. After this British breakthrough, America returned to North America to open for the Everly Brothers. That spring the single “A Horse with No Name” entered the U.S. market, quickly rising to number one and displacing Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” from the summit. “I Need You” became another Top Ten entry that summer, prompting work on the second album. “Ventura Highway,” the first single drawn from those sessions, marked the band’s third consecutive Top Ten hit by December 1972. Early in 1973 America received the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1972.

Homecoming arrived in January 1973, entering the Top Ten in the United States while peaking at number 21 in the United Kingdom. The group’s fundamental style remained consistent on this release, though the production grew more refined. Hit singles nevertheless became scarce, yielding only one minor Top 40 entry throughout 1973. Hat Trick, the third album, surfaced near the end of 1973 and stalled at number 28 on the American charts. Holiday, issued in late autumn 1974, marked the first project recorded with producer George Martin. The album restored America to the upper reaches of the charts, reaching number three and introducing the singles “Tin Man” and “Lonely People.” “Sister Golden Hair,” taken from 1975’s Hearts, delivered the band’s second number-one single. That same year History: America’s Greatest Hits appeared and would eventually surpass four million copies sold.

Although 1976’s Hideaway attained gold status and climbed to number 11, America’s audience began to recede. After Harbor met with modest response, Peek departed to pursue a career as a contemporary Christian artist. The remaining members continued as a duo; their final Martin-produced effort, Silent Letter, emerged in 1979 with limited notice. America reentered the Top Ten in 1982 via “You Can Do Magic,” an adult-contemporary pop track incorporating synthesizers alongside the group’s signature harmonies. “The Border” provided their last Top 40 placement in 1983, stopping at number 33. Following the summer 1985 release of America in Concert, the band sustained active touring into the 1990s and resurfaced in 1998 with Human Nature.

In the early years of the new century America issued several live collections and a holiday studio album, along with the comprehensive box set Highway in 2000. Capitalizing on renewed attention, longtime admirers Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins persuaded Bunnell and Beckley to record again in 2006. While urging the duo to retain America’s core sound, producers Schlesinger and Iha enlisted younger musicians influenced by the soft-rock pioneers for guest appearances. Here & Now, released in early 2007, contained fresh material by America together with covers from acts such as Ryan Adams and Nada Surf that drew heavily from the band’s style. The duo of Bunnell and Beckley next delivered the independently issued covers collection Back Pages in July 2011. That same month former member Dan Peek died at his Missouri home at age 60.

Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell maintained America’s touring schedule through the remainder of the 2010s, marking their 50th anniversary in 2019 with a tour and the compilation 50th Anniversary: Golden Hits. Heritage II: Demos/Alternate Takes 1971-1976, a follow-up to the 2017 collection Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973, appeared in April 2020. Willie Leacox, who served as the band’s longtime road and studio drummer for more than four decades, died at his Stockton, California home on February 2, 2022, at the age of 74.