About America
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 , included the single "Ventura Highway". Over the next several years, the band continued to release hit songs, including "Muskrat Love" on Hat Trick , "Tin Man" and "Lonely People" on Holiday 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 of Fame in 2006 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.
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, and 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 in March 1971 by Ian Ralfini and assigned to the UK Warner Bros. label.
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