Formed in 1969 by Gerry Beckley (guitar, piano, vocals), Dewey Bunnell (guitar, vocals) and Dan Peek (guitar, keyboards, vocals) who were all sons of US Servicemen stationed in England. They achieved success with their debut single "A Horse With No Name" which showcased their pop rock vocal harmony style. Further appearances in the singles charts followed with "Ventura Highway" and "Tin Man" along with album hits. The band has seen various reincarnations as anything from a duo to a 7 piece outfit, with Dan Peek leaving in 1977 (although he did rejoin for a few live appearances). America are still touring and releasing live and studio albums and consists nowadays, in their 16th personnel line-up, of the core duo of Beckley & Bunnell with Willie Leacox (drums/percussion), Mike Woods (guitar/vocals) and Richard Campbell (bass/vocals).
A practical, no-frills clamshell box set celebrating the soft rock/folk-pop hitmakers' '70s heyday, the Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 rounds up seven complete studio albums and one live LP. Comprised of America (1971), Homecoming (1972), Hat Trick (1973), Holiday (1974), Hearts (1975), Hideaway (1976), Harbor (1977), and America Live (1977), all of which were remastered in 2014, the collection is aimed squarely at completists…
Drawing upon the softer side of the hippie folk scene with a more refined sound, America garnered a string of hits for themselves in the 1970s. With a rich, acoustic base and lush, high tenor harmonies, songs like "Sandman" were instantly successful. The band's breakthrough single was the slightly country-tinged "Horse with No Name", that owed a debt to the craftsmanship of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. America displayed the band's sensitivities with "Clarice" and "I Need You". While the band made a name for itself on the strength of "Horse" alone, the rest of the record deserves attention, too. While "Riverside" and "Children Here" never reached the status of later hits like "Sister Goldenhair" or "Lonely People", they still command respect. –Steve Gdula