The band America got it’s start in 1969 as a garage band that played teen dance clubs in the UK. Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek( who left in 1977) were classmates and they were sons of U.S. servicemen stationed at an Air Force base in England. After graduating from high school they worked together for a while to make a living at the Air Force base. Then Dan Peek left and went to the states to attend college in Virginia. They went their separate ways briefly to persue different things. Dan came back within six months and had written some songs. Dewey had written a couple of songs and Gerry also had written a couple of songs. Within days of listening to each others songs, they knew what they were destined to do. These songs eventually were used on the first album America. They chose the name America because they didn’t want anyone to think they were British musicians trying to sound American.
It all paid off
After playing at area college pubs and some other places in London it all paid off when they met a guy named Jeff Dexter. Jeff was an MC at a place called the Roundhouse. They put on big multi-act shows and jeff would introduce the bands onstage. He was real savvy and knew all the right people. His roommate was Ian Samwell who happened to be a Warner Bros. executive and producer. He took them under his wing and they landed a deal with Warner Bros. and did more shows.
Within a year they were opening for Elton John, Pink Floyd and The Who. Gerry Buckley says “they were three teenagers on stools” and Pink Floyd had a 90 piece orchestra. The trio was famous for their close harmonies and light acoustic Folk Rock sound. Their influences were bands like The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, and The Hollies.
America’s first album America was released in January 1972. The songs had been written on borrowed acoustic guitars. One of the songs from the album was written by Dewy Bunnell called “Desert Song” later re-titled “A Horse With No Name”. Their producer Ian Samwell suggested the name change because “A Horse With No Name” was a more gripping title. At first everyone thought the song was a metaphor for drugs because “horse” is a slang term for Heroin. For that very reason a Kansas City radio station banned the song. Dewey Bunnell says the lyrics “good to be out of the rain” came from spending time in the desert in New Mexico and Southern California visiting family and thinking of “rainy old England”. The album did not include “A Horse With No Name” because Their record label , Warner Brothers didn’t hear a hit single. So the two projects ,the album and single are two different things. The U.S. wanted to release the album with “A Horse With No Name”. They sent over the parts to print the single and the album. The record company had printed 100,000 copies before they realized the single wasn’t on the album. If you’re fortunate enough to own the one without the song, you have a unique collectors album. In 1972 America played the Whiskey A Go Go and broke all attendance records.”A Horse With No Name” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1972 and sold over one million copies. It bumped “Heart of Gold” out of the No. one spot, causing many to think it was actually a Neil Young song including Young’s father.
Early On Gerry, Dewey and Dan had met Artist/songwriter Harry Nilsson and he planned on recording “I Need You” to be his follow up to his smash hit “Without You” .At the time America had no plans to record it because they were promoting “Horse”. Then of course they ended up using it The second single from the album America .“I Need You” peaked at No. 9. Harry did record the song in 1976 on his “That’s The Way It Is” album.
America’s second album Homecoming was released in November 1972. This album contradicts the negative press in recent years by writing off America as a “poor man’s Crosby, Stills & Nash”. The three part harmonies are astounding. The group reached the top 10 again in October 1972 with Dewey Bunnel’s “Ventura Highway”. There is no such piece as Ventura Highway. Bunnell says he remembers having a mental picture of that stretch of coastline traveling with his family when he was younger and what he was trying to depict was The Pacific Coast Highway 1 which goes up to the town of Ventura. Other singles, including Dan Peek’s “Don’t Cross The River” and Gerry Beckley’s “Only In Your Heart” were modestly successful, but the group still won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1972.
Their third album Hat Trick was released in 1973. It was an album with a lot of orchestration but didn’t produce any major hits. The first single “Muskrat Love” only went as high No. 67 on the singles chart. The Captain and Tennille took it to No. 4,three years later .
Bringing on George Martin
After the disappointing commercial success of the album Hat Trick, they were able to bring on the legendary producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick who helped create the great sound of The Beatles. Gerry Beckley says working with Martin is the single best thing that has ever happened to him. Dewey Bunnell says he called Martin to see if he was interested in working with them and he said yes. Besides he was already in LA for the movie “Live And Let Die” which Paul McCartney wrote and sang the title song. So Martin’s first project was Their fourth album Holiday . It was finished in 15 days and released in 1974. The first single, “Tin Man” written by Bunnell was inspired from the character from his favorite movie The Wizard Of Oz. It reached to No. 4 in 1974 on the US charts. The next single to follow “Tin Man” was “Lonely People” written by Dan Peek and it would be Dan’s only song credited to reach the top 10 landing at No. 5. In December 1974.
By this time they realized their first three album titles began with an H. Then the record company started to re-title The first album America to include “A Horse With No Name”. The second album Homecoming because America returned to the states. The third album Hat Trick, the term for three. Naming the albums with the letter H was basically a fluke. There were other album titles beginning with H later in their career.
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