America music group biography

America is an American rock group that has released 23 studio albums, 14 live albums and 23 compilation albums. They have also issued 47 singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 and three Adult Contemporary number ones.

America's best-known song is their 1972 debut single, "A Horse with No Name". It was the lead-off single to their self-titled debut album and became their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also a Top 5 hit in the United Kingdom reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, America had charted eleven Top 40 singles in the United States. However, in the 1990s, their popularity began to fade. They have not had a Billboard-charted single in the United States since 1984, though "Young Moon" charted in Germany in 1994, peaking at number 59 on the country's Media Control Charts along with hitting #33 on the Radio & Records AC Airplay Top 40 charts. Additionally, in 1998, "From a Moving Train" charted on the Radio & Records AC Airplay Top 40 chart for six weeks and peaked at number 25, along with being #84 for the year. "Winter Wonderland" peaked on the same chart at number 26 in 2002.

Studio albums

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s, 2010s and 2020s

Compilation albums

1970–1999

2000s

Live albums

Bootleg albums

Singles

1970s singles

1980s singles

1990s singles

2000s singles

Billboard year-end positions

Notes

References

British-American rock band

America are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1970 by English-born American Dewey Bunnell and Americans 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. The group continues to record material and tour regularly. Its 2007 album Here & Now was a collaboration with a new generation of musicians who have credited the band as an influence.

America won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Group at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards in 1973. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall

When America, the perennial classic-rock favorite, hits the road in 2023, they’ll celebrate their 53th Anniversary with their powerful performances. Founding members, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (along with former band mate, the late Dan Peek) met in high school in London in the late 1960s and quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name.” America became a global household name and paved the way with an impressive string of hits following the success of their first #1 single. Forty plus years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.

America’s journey has found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes, which also include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 1970’s Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Gerry Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Dewey Bunnell’s use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Dan Peek’s more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.

America’s albums–six certified gold and/or platinum, with their first greatest hits collection, History, hitting four plus million in sales–displayed a fuller range of the trio’s talents than did their singles. Their material encompassed an ambitious artistic swath; from effects-laden rockers to oddball medleys to soul-bearing ballads, America displayed a flawless blend of disparate genres and styles as wide-open as the great American plains.

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