美国乐队

America is a British–American rock band formed in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop and soft rock stations.

The band came together shortly after the members' graduation from high school in the late 1960s. In 1970, Peek joined the band and they signed a record deal with Warner Bros. The following year, they released their self-titled debut album, which included the transatlantic hits "A Horse with No Name" and "I Need You". Their second album, Homecoming (1972), included the single "Ventura Highway". Over the next several years, the band continued to release hit songs, including "Muskrat Love" on Hat Trick (1973), "Tin Man" and "Lonely People" on Holiday (1974) and "Sister Golden Hair" and "Daisy Jane" on their 1975 record Hearts. It was also in 1975 when America released History: America's Greatest Hits, a compilation of hit singles, which was certified multi-platinum in the United States and Australia. Peek left the group in 1977 and their commercial fortunes declined, though they returned to the top 10 in 1982 with the single "You Can Do Magic". The band's final Top 40 hit was "The Border", which reached no. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. Its 2007 album Here & Now was a collaboration with a new generation of musicians who have credited the band as an influence. Since Beckley's retirement in 2024, Bunnell continues to tour under the America name.

America won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Group at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards in 1973. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

History

Early success (1970–1973)

While their fathers were stationed at the United States Air Force base at RAF South Ruislip near London in the mid-1960s, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek attended London Central High School at Bushey Hall, where they met while playing in two different bands.

Peek left for the United States for a failed attempt at college during 1969. Soon after his return to the UK the following year, the three began making music together. Starting out with borrowed acoustic guitars, they developed a style that incorporated three-part vocal harmony with the style of contemporary folk-rock acts such as Crosby, Stills, & Nash.

Eventually, the trio dubbed itself America, inspired by the Americana jukebox in their local mess hall. They chose it because they did not want anyone to think they were British musicians trying to sound American. They played their first gigs in the London area, including some highlights at the Roundhouse in London's Chalk Farm district. They were eventually taken on by producer Ian Samwell, best known for writing Cliff Richard's 1958 breakthrough hit "Move It", and his partner Jeff Dexter, and through their efforts were eventually contracted to Kinney Records (UK) in March 1971 by Ian Ralfini and assigned to the UK Warner Bros. label.

Their first album, America (1971), was recorded at Trident Studios in London and produced by Samwell and Dexter, who became the trio's manager. Dexter also gave the band their first major gig, 20 December 1970, at Implosion at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, as the opening act for The Who, Elton John, Patto, and the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band and Choir, for a Christmas charity event. Although the trio initially planned to record the album in a similar manner to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Samwell convinced them to perfect their acoustic style instead.

The debut album, America, was released in late December 1971 to only moderate success, although it sold well in the Netherlands, where Dexter had taken them as a training ground to practice their craft. Samwell and Dexter subsequently brought the trio to Morgan Studios to record several additional songs. One of them was a Bunnell composition called "Desert Song", which Dexter previously demonstrated during studio rehearsals in Puddletown, Dorset, at the home of Arthur Brown. The song had its public debut at the Harrogate Festival, four days later, to great audience response. After several performances and a TV show, it was retitled "A Horse with No Name". The song became a major worldwide hit in early 1972. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in March 1972. America's debut album was released in the U.S. that same month, with the hit song added, and quickly went platinum. The album resulted in a second major chart success with Beckley's "I Need You", which peaked at number 9 on the US charts.