A Horse With No Name by America

Horse With No Name

1971

America

If you were in Jr. high, high school, or college during the early Seventies and claim that you never head bopped to that classic guitar intro, then lip-synced  'On the first part of the journey...' right along with Dewey Bunnell, you just might hail from some strange, culturally deprived world located in a galaxy too distant to pick up Top 40 Radio.

Neither this four and a quarter minutes worth of legendary cultural icon nor the band that made it a classic would have come to be because if, back in 1970, a trio of teenage Air Force brats who were living on base with their parents in England hadn't decided that they were bored out of their skulls.The three guys were Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek, and all three of them attended London Central High School, which served the USAF side of RAF Base Raslip near London where their dads were stationed. Better yet, all three were musically inclined and crazy-talented and somewhere along the way the three of them met up and decided to do something about the aforementioned boredom. 

The 'Something They Did About It' was to organize a little Rock Band. Just to have something to occupy their time, of course, and maybe make a little pocket change if they managed to snag a gig or two. The whole 'Becoming One Of The Most Iconic Rock Bands In History' thing was just a nice little bonus.

The very first thing they picked was the group's name, and as the story's told, they decided on 'America' because they really didn't want anyone thinking they were actually British musicians who were trying to sound American. After picking that soon-to-be iconic moniker, the group adopted the same style of three part harmony that Crosby Stills, Nash and Young had pretty much made into an art-form, then grabbed some local gigs around London and environs there-of.  As a preview of things to come, the kids of the Greater London Metro Area loved 'em.... (One of the venues they played, BTW, was a former railroad locomotive maintenance shed turned entertainment venue named Roundhouse Chalkfarm, where another little group known as Pink Floyd got their start).

America's local success ended up getting them noticed by and signed to The UK division of Warner Brothers through Kinney Records. They wrote some songs, and spent hours and days and weeks in the studio recording their first self-titled album, polished it, tweaked it, finally released it...and met with only moderate success. The album didn't flop, exactly, but it wasn't a runaway hit either. More importantly in the hearts, minds, and wallets of the label, none of the songs on the album grabbed anyone and yelled 'Buy Me!!'

 No singles were released from this first effort, so WB-UK pulled them back into the studio (London's Morgan Sound Studios, to be precise) and asked them to knock out some more songs that might be more radio-friendly and more importantly, might sell big in the U.S,  Basically the label wanted America to pull a break-out hit out of thin air...so they preceded to do just that.

They demoed a quartet of songs that hadn't been included on that initial album and let the relevant label-suits mull over them. One of these songs was a Dewey Bunnell penned tune featuring a catchy, addictive beat, haunting melody and cryptic lyrics they had christened 'Desert Song'. They had knocked the song out during one of those dreary, chilly, rainy weeks or so that the British Isles tend to have in bunches while crashing at Arthur Brown's home studio in Puddletown, Dorset, England a couple of months earlier. All three of them were just about done with watching rain bounce off of the street and Dewey Bunnell, who really hated these ever-lasting bouts of weather-funk, was mentally defiling all things 'rain'. . 

His dad had been stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, near Lompoc, California, before getting transferred across 'The Pond' and Dewey and his brother had spent uncounted hours exploring the desert surrounding the base. As he listened to rain spatter off the windows and stared at an abstract Salvidor Dali desert painting hanging next to strange horse depicted in a woodcut by M.C. Escher on the studio wall, he suddenly started doodling with chords and jotting down lyrics. 

Dan and Gerry probably listened and watched for a minute or so and asked him what he was up to. Dewey maybe smiled, said something about 'heat;, and gave them the general outline of what he was trying to do...create a desert. Right there in the studio. So Gerry and Dan dived right in and helped him build a classic. Though they had no idea that's what they were doing...they just wanted to get their mind off of rain for a while.

So, yep, the iconic tune that would become their signature song was written as a musical distraction to get their minds off of England's dreary weather and when they demoed it along with three other unreleased tunes, they had absolutely no inkling that WB-UK would pick it as their first single. Everyone was actually expecting 'I Need You' to be the album's first single, but their producer Ian Samwell along with other WB-UK powers that be really really liked 'Desert Song. A quick meeting of the minds later, 'Desert Song' had been chosen as the band's first released single...and it'd also be the last time it would be called by that name. The phrase 'A Horse With No Name' had really clicked with Samwell, and that's what he decided he wanted them to call the song.

That change was made, they tweaked the song a bit, and sent it out into the world in December of  '71. It was released in The U.K. first and climbed to # 3 on the British Pop Charts within under a month. They didn't release it as a single in the U.S until a little over a month later, though it still got a bit of airplay here and there in major markets, probably due to 'intentionally unintentional' leaks to hype up us music-buyin' teens. When the single finally did hit the record stores in the US on January 31^st 1972. we 70's Kids snapped 'em up like funnel cakes at a County Fair. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 twenty days after it's release, on Feb 19^th , broke into the Top Ten at #7 on March 11, then snagged the the top spot two weeks later on March 25. It would hang on to #1 for three straight weeks and spend a total 14 weeks on the charts, ten of 'em in the Top Ten.

We loved the song...but not everyone did. A lot of adults who were also parents took one listen to Dewey Bunnell's lyrics, gasped in shock and horror, and exclaimed 'Listen to that!!!! (Gasp) It;'s about...(GasP!!) drugs!!!! Several radio stations actually banned it, citing the fact that 'Horse' was street slang for Heroin (And ignoring the fact that 'Horse' was the word used to identify, well, a horse). This indignant reaction to the song may have slowed it's rise to #1 by, ohhhh, twenty seconds or so.

The phrasing and grammar used in the lyrics also helped fuel the 'It's About Drugs I Tell Ya!!!!' cry of our protective parents (“I mean, listen to it...it just had had to have been written by someone who was high!!! (GasP!!!)”..and that, my friends, is a direct quote from my own Mom. Thankfully, and likely with the urging of my dad, she still let me buy both the single and the album).

The fact was, Dewey Bunnell took lots of liberties with grammar for the sake of the flow of lyrics and rhythm during the writing of not only Horse With No Name, but all of his songs. He admitted as much, and if he hadn't, done so 'A Horse With No Name' would have lost that distinctive sound and beat. Just try subbing correct grammar for the actual lyrics in, say, the last two lines of that iconic chorus (In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain ). It would not have sounded Right. At. All.

Then Neil Young got into the act due to the song's resemblance to his own work (The fact that it knocked his own tune, 'Heart of Gold', out of the number one spot on The Billboard Hot 100 probably helped fuel that fire a bit). Some people actually thought it was a new Neil Young song the first time they heard it and Dewey Bunnell readily admitted that he had long and deeply admired, and was greatly inspired by, Neil Young's work. There was some controversy as well as some pretty painful backlash, but no one took any legal action, very few people outside of the Music Industry even noticed, and the singles kept flying off of record store shelves.

The label, of course, gleefully took note of the single's run-away sales and re-released the album with 'A Horse With No Name' added to the track-list, The re-released album also went to #1, giving America a pretty sweet double-play of statistical and sales awesomeness when both their first single and first album topped the charts. While it was at it, 'A Horse With No Name' also played point-man for a trio of back-to-back top ten hits...not at all bad for a band that was just starting out!

I well remember it being all over the radio during the late winter and spring of '72 (And when it hit the airwaves in Richmond and Hampton Roads, it did so on WLEE and WGH respectively...those markets' AM Top 40 powerhouses,. Those classic AM stations were still going strong then, not yet pushed aside by the FM Top 40 stations that would take over in a few years).

The song went beyond becoming a classic to become a cultural icon and one of the symbols of an entire generation. We loved it then, and it's still a favorite among us 'Seventies Kids' today. Happily, it's still all over the radio, on the Oldies and Classic Rock stations now, and I can just about bet you'll hear it at least once in any 24 hour period on any of 'em. (That'd be 107.3 and 96.5 in Richmond, and 106.9 in Hampton Roads.)

This one's gonna be around forever...no, really, literally forever. A century or so down the road, someone'll be listening to a classic music station on whatever technology replaced the technology that replaced XM Radio, and that catchy guitar intro 'll start up, leading in to America's signature song, and someone else will be envious of those Seventies Kids who grew up with the best music ever written and performed. They can just envy it...we lived it!

So enjoy! 'A Horse With No Name' by America.

First bonus. Another montage of desert scenes set to America's signature song..I really like the graphics in this one, and I'd have used this one for the main video had it not cut off just a second or so too early.



The second bonus Is.A. True. Jem!!! While researching videos for America's songs, I ran up on several vids of an informal live performance...possibly a recording session...and the clips of them performing Horse With No Name are intercut with an early music video for the tune. Take a look!



And for Bonus Numero Quatro...Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley performing A Horse With No Name while on tour, back in 2007...still sounding good then (And now!)





A few interesting li'l facts before I end this one...

'A Horse With No Name is one of the most analyzed songs that has ever been written. Take a look at it's Songfacts page . While the 'Facts' section of the page is surprisingly basic, the comments are an interesting read, because pretty much everyone has their own opinion about the deep, hidden meaning behind those iconic lyrics. There are 140 comments at last count, with several long, detailed interpretations of the lyrics, discussions on whether or not the song was ether about drugs or written while on drugs, a few more detailed comments about the facts I covered in this very post, and a couple of comments that are hilarious for their ignorance. (One notes that the song was inspired by a book that wasn't written and published until almost a decade after 'A Horse With No Name' was released). SO if you love music and have a spare few minutes, grab some munchies and the beverage of your choice, and have a read!.

'A Horse With No Name' actually has one of the simplest guitar chords ever composed...so simple, in fact, that it's often used in basic guitar lessons >>>REALLY...CLICK!<<<. As Dewey Bunnell noted (Thanks to accessbackstage.com for the quote!) “I tuned the A string way down to an E, and I found this little chord, and I just moved my two fingers back and forth, and the entire song came from basically three chords.” So simple that I could probably play it...Ok, maybe that's pushin' it!

Back in February 2012...on the 40^th anniversary of the release of 'A Horse With No Name'...America was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

America has never ever broken up...they became a duo after Dan Peek left the group back in 1977, but Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley have stayed together, played together, performed, and yes toured together for for 42 years. Not only that, but a couple of their back-up musicians have also been with them for most of that ride. And, just to prove that they're still relevant, and that they still freakin' rule'...they played L.A.'s modern live music icon , Coachella, back in 2012. And, as one of the perks for those living in Southern Cali, they played the San Diego County Fair on July 4th, 2014...the day before I typed this. Lucky San Diagoians!

Both this fact and the one above, BTW, are covered in some more detail, along with several others in the Vulture.com article I linked below.

Any song as iconic as 'A Horse With No Name' grabs a huge web-presence. Along with the sites I've already linked:

http://www.venturahighway.com/index.php America's official site. Includes trivia, tour schedules, pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about the group.

http://www.accessbackstage.com/america/song/song005.htm Accessbackstage, a truly awesome site for music buffs, with loads of trivia about classic songs and artists

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/10/03/A-Horse-With-No-Name-What-Does-That-Mean/#!3Mgug Neatorama's page on 'Horse With No Name. Neatorama's on of those sites with trivia and factoids about pretty much anything you can imagine.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/america-horse-with-no-name-influential.html Interesting discussion on why America was so influential and and why their genre of music became known as 'Frisbee Rock'

I Need You by America

I Need You

1972

America

When 'America's second single...and second Top 10 hit...starts playing, I can just about bet that every Seventies Kid can join right in on that first 'We Used To Laugh....' , then sing...or at least lip-sync... right along without missing a lyric. And every one of us guys also...fondly now, with misty-eyed nostalgia...remembers 'I Need You' as being one of those songs that you will hear within an hour or so of breaking up with your girlfriend (Trust me on this!).

'I Need You ' was supposed to be the first single released from America's self-titled first album, but after the album's lethargic initial sales inspired A Horse With No Name to be released, replacing it in that role (And inspiring the re-release of the album with 'Horse...' included), ' I Need You' became 'The Other Single' from the album. It debuted at #67 on the Hot 100 on May 20^th 1972 (Just as 'A Horse With No Name's chart run was winding down) and peaked at #9, just inside the Top 10, six weeks later on July 1^st. (Feel old, gang. That was just shy of 42 years ago as I type this.). It hung on to #9 for two weeks before dropping off of the Hot 100 on July 22^nd.

'I Need You' was a bona-fide hit, but like the Middle Sibling that it pretty much was, it got overshadowed by both 'A Horse With No Name', and 'Ventura Highway', which was America's third single, third Top Ten Hit in a row, and the first single off of their second album, 'Homecoming'. Don't get me wrong here...'I Need You' was still a huge success for 'America'. It got loads of air play, lots of singles were purchased and played until the grooves wore through, and it was well loved back then and its still remembered fondly today. But as the years passed the two songs that immediately preceded and succeeded it became such mega-classics that their 'Middle Sibling' sort of faded into the shadows.

Middle Sibling that it may have been, 'I Need You' gave a very definite nod to the Progressive Rock sound that America aspired to. (I've actually heard it compared to 'Yes' early work.). Gerry Beckley penned it as a piano ballad, and it's pretty, flowing melodies and strong piano gave it a completely different style from 'A Horse With No Name's  more Folk Rock sound. America's first two singles also showed just how much range the band had style-wise...a range that would serve them well over the coming years (And still does decades later, as the band never broke up or took a break from performing. Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell still tour annually, and perform regularly!)

Hey...We obviously liked it...while it didn't grab the Mega-Success that 'A Horse With No Name' enjoyed, it was still 'America's' second Top Ten hit out of two released singles. That ain't too shabby none 'tall!

I Need You still shows up on Oldies Stations and Adult Contemporary (What we used to call 'Easy Listening') stations occasionally, but nowhere near often enough.. It'd be nice if we heard it more than we do...like a gentle breeze after a spring shower, it's smooth, mellow, and soothing.

Now, when we hear 'We Used To Laugh...We Used To Cry', backed by that classic and awesome piano. all of us think back to a time when getting to spend a couple of minutes with your girl or boyfriend between classes was one of the most important issues of the day. And it just might remind you of the time, during that quick Before The Late Bell interlude, she handed you your ring back, slammed her locker, and walked away...and, at the end of the school day, this was the song that was playing as you started your car.

So Enjoy! 'I Need You' by America!

And as a bonus, a very informal live performance of i Need You. I've found several

Vids from this same venue and session...these are true jems!

Ventura Highway by America

Ventura Highway

1972

America

Some songs are just meant to be driving songs, and Dewey Bunnell's musical tribute to both his childhood in Nebraska and an early Sixties Coastal Cali road-trip is one of the classic driving songs of all time. If you're a Seventies Kid, you know exactly what song's starting up when you hear that classic guitar intro start up...and you very likely start finger-tapping the wheel as your head bobs to the beat and then join in on 'Chewin on a piece of grass...' right on cue. (And I heard it and did exactly this just yesterday, on the way to work!). Ventura Highway just about begs you to put the top...or at least the windows...down and let the wind blow through your hair as you head for the beach. (I go right under I-295 on the way to work...All I would've had to have done was hit I-295 N to I-64 East ;) )

Ventura Highway was the third song in America's first hat trick of back to back hits and is also one of the three or so songs that everyone thinks of instantly when they think of 'Songs By America'. And even though it's become pretty well entrenched as a summer-type tune, it wasn't released during the summer. 

'Ventura Highway' hit the record stores in early or mid October, '72 and that airy, energetic, carefree beat and melody struck a chord with us Seventies kids right off the bat. It hit the Hot 100 at # 53 on October 21^st, '72, entered the Top 10 on the second of December, just in time for Christmas shopping season, peaked at #8 a week later and hung on to that spot spot for two weeks.

That piece of grass that's being chewed on in the first line harks back to Dewey Bunnell's childhood in Nebraska, where as a kid he did indeed find himself 'Chewin' on a piece of grass...walkin' down the ro-o-oad'' and the song was about the optimism of a young man wanting to expand his horizons, get out of his small Midwestern town, and head west. There's a vibrant optimism in those classic chords and lyrics that just can't be denied or ignored, so Dewey definitely nailed what he was looking for.

Probably the best known and loved part of the song is that high-energy chorus, and it was inspired by...a flat tire. Yep, you read right. Dewey was with his family on a road trip back in 1963 and the family cruiser had a flat...so Dad-Bunnell pulled the ride to the shoulder, the rest of the family got out of the car, dad started tire-changin', and told the kids to stay out of the way and out of traffic until they were back on the road.

Dewey and his bro did what any kid of 10 or so would do...they leaned back on a bank, and watched passing traffic and clouds (Wanna make a guess what a couple of those clouds bore a resemblance to? ;) ) While they were at it, they spotted a near by road sign giving the mileage to...Ventura.

The images would stick in his mind for nearly a decade to inspire one of the signature songs of the early 70's.

There's only one way to put it...We Seventies Kids loved this song! I don't know if the hopeful, optimistic vibe registered, but the sound sure as hell did! Who doesn't love Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek's harmonic guitar intro (They came up with that sitting in a hotel room, BTW) and that carefree, airy melody and lyrics. It was requested on the radio, covered by garage bands, danced to, sung along with, and made into a classic.

And happily this is another one that just will not go away. It's still all over Oldies stations, and it'll be tempting people to put the top down and let the wind blow through their hair as they head down the road long after we're gone !

So Enjoy! Ventura Highway, by America.

And for the first of two bonuses, same arrangement, but with on-screen lyrics.

Bonus #3...Dewey, Dan, and Gerry performing Ventura Highway live...they truly kick ass in this one!

Tin Man by America

Tin Man

1974

America

America took about a two year break from the Top-10 before they embarked on another hat trick of Top-10 hits, and they did themselves one better this time around because this time all three hits cracked the Top-5. Tin Man kicked off America's second trio of back-to-back hits with another one of those kick-ass guitar intros that the team of Bunnell, Beckley, and Peek had down to an art form, leading in to yet another Dewey Bunnell penned classic featuring America's signature guitar-awesomeness and lyrics whose cryptic meaning has been analyzed almost as often as 'A Horse With No Name.

While Dewey Bunnell says that the lyrics were inspired by a metal-clad character in a certain iconic movie that was a childhood favorite of his, he's mum on the meaning of the song, and in fact admits that certain elements of the song, such as 'the Tropic of Sir Galahan' just may not mean anything... they just sounded right at the time, and I think that just may be the way all of us saw it. I don't remember trying to analyze it, but I do remember really liking it, and I obviously wasn't the only one. Tin Man popped up on The Hot 100 on August 21^st, 1974, and took 11 weeks to crack the Top-10 by snagging the Ten-Spot on November 2, '74. Then a week later it jumped 6 spots to peak at #4 where it'd hang around for three of it's eighteen weeks on the chart.

It was a staple on Richmond's WLEE as well as two year old upstart FM rival WRVQ during that fall of the Class of 75's senior year in high school, and I well remember hearing it on Hampton Roads AM powerhouse WGH just two days before it dropped out of the top 10, while I was heading down Va Route 35 to partake of several platefuls of Thanksgiving day goodness.

All of America's hits have pretty good staying power, whether it's in the hearts of us Seventies Kids or on the airwaves, and Tin Man's no exception...you still hear it pretty regularly on Oldies and Classic Rock stations, and that's how it should be!

So Enjoy! Dewey Bunnell & Co's cryptic and awesome tribute to to The Wizard OF Oz's shiniest character...Tin Man!

And as a bonus...a uber-informal live performance of 'Tin Man' from about the time it was released. (Sure wish people'd note the time and place for these live performances...but I still appreciate them preserving and posting the vids!)

Lonely People by America

Lonely People

1974

America

Dan Peek only wrote one top 10 hit while he was with America, and he, along with his wife Catherine, penned 'Lonely People' as a more optimistic answer to a tune named 'Elinor Rigby', recorded by an obscure little British band from Liverpool. Dan considered 'Elinor Rigby' to be one of the most overwhelmingly depressing songs about life he'd ever heard, and wanted to give a bit of hope to those single people who hadn't yet found their Soul-mate. He and Catherine wrote it just a few weeks after the two of them married, an event that Dan said many times 'Changed his life and made him feel like he'd won. My bet is that this turn-around in his own life inspired him to write a song telling 'All of the lonely people' that there was hope.,

'Lonely People' features a pretty, haunting melody backed by equally lovely instrumentals. One of the things everyone remembers about it is the harmonica and piano solos that kick off the instrumental interlude in typical 'America' top-drawer fashion. It's a truly beautiful song, both musically and conceptually....really listen to it and you can see what I mean.

Interestingly enough, not only was Lonely People a reply to a Beatles song, it (As well as the entire album, Holiday) was produced by The Beatles' producer, the incomparable George Martin, and when you listen to the song you can catch some Beatle-esqe elements through-out. ' IMHO, Lonely People has a different sound and vibe from any other 'America' song, and I think that 's the result of combining Dan's songwriting with George Martin's producing.

We Seventies Kids gave it plenty of love as 1974 became 1975. 'Lonely People debuted on The Hot 100 three days after Christmas of '74 and cracked the Top-10 six weeks later, on February 8^th, 1975. It'd peak at #5 exactly a month later, only staying there for a single week and would drop off the Hot 100 after 14 weeks on the chart, six of them in the Top-10.

Lonely People would get a new life of sorts after Dan Peek left the band to kick off a solo career and became a Born Again Christian in 1977. Dan regularly ends his concerts with a modified rendition of 'Lonely People', with the last two lines of the chorus changed to "Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup and give your heart to Jesus Christ." Dan came to be considered a pioneer of modern Christian-Pop, and embraced his faith through-out his solo career. Like too many of the good ones, he left us too early, passing away on July 24^th, 2011 at the age of 60.

Like several of America's hits, 'Lonely People's gotten sort of shuttled aside on the Oldies stations by their 'Big Three' hits (Horse With No Name, Ventura Highway, and Sister Golden Hair) but you'll still hear it a bit more than occasionally...as a bonus you'll also hear Dan Peek's solo version every once in a while. Hopefully they'll stay around for a few more decades.

So Enjoy! Dan Peeks musical ray of hope for All Of The Lonely People...Lonely People...

As a bonus..Dan Peek's solo version of Lonely People, performed as a Christian Pop artist. This version shows up on Oldies stations once in a while, too.

Sister Golden Hair by America

Sister Golden Hair

1975

America

If you asked anyone who grew up in the Seventies to name three songs by America, I can just about bet money that this one will be on the list...everyone remembers it, and everyone pretty much loved it. Sister Golden Hair was penned by Gerry Beckley, and the concept is pretty simple...some poor guy trying to persuade his beloved and betrothed to forgive him for backing out of their wedding and skipping out of town.

Gerry Beckley had a completely different writing style from Dewey Bunnell...while Dewey thrived on cryptic lyrics and lots of poetic license in his song writing, Gerry's lyrics were simpler...he noted that Sister Golden Hair was the first time he ever used 'Ain't' in a song, because it just sounded right, and as for who the song was for, he said that was poetic license. Of course people still try to analyze Gerry Beckley's lyrics...take a look over at their Songfacts page and you'll find few real facts, and 62 comments, a good percentage of which try to do just that. These learned analysts cover a broad range of topics. Nuns are mentioned. As is the concept of carpets and drapes matching.

Like teenagers listening to music since time eternal, I dare say we really didn't give a whole lot of thought to what the song meant...we just knew we really liked the sound, and what's not to like about Sister Golden Hair? From that that classic 70s synthesizer backed guitar at the beginning to the high energy, upbeat rhythm to that kickin' drum to the subtle nod to early 'Do-wop', this, IMHO, was America at their very best. It was an awesome, catchy, up-beat, up-tempo Summer tune that was meant to be cranked up while you were hanging out with your friends at the hang-out of choice.

Sister Golden Hair was the Tail End Charlie of their second Top-10 hat trick, and they took it to #1 eleven weeks after it's April 5^th, 75 debut on the Hot 100. It snagged the top spot on June 14^th, '75 the week after I graduated from high school, so I can just about bet we heard it multiple times while heading down 460 towards Va beach, enroute to 'Beach Week'. Though FM was rapidly overtaking it, AM Top 40 radio was still the mobile music venue of the day, so we probably switched the dial from WLEE's 1480 to 'WGH's 1310 somewhere around Waverly or Wakefield.

It was all over the radio that summer, and you can still hear it pretty regularly on Oldies stations. It's timeless, and takes a whole lot of people back to a summer that made a lot of memories, and put smiles on a whole lot of faces whenever that classic intro cranks up. And when it does...you will sing along to when you hear it...Ya know ya do!

It's well remembered, well loved, and a whole lot of peoples favorite song.

So Enjoy! Sister Golden Hair, by America.

Three bonus vids for this one...First, same classic arrangement, with lyrics



Bonus Numero Dos..., a live performance of Sister Golden Hair from 1975. Not sure where this was, but man, it was awesome!


And for the third bonus...Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell showin' that they still got it...Sister Golden Hair live, thirty years later, in 2005.

Daisy Jane by America

Daisy Jane

1975

America

I'm pretty sure everyone who was a teenager 39 years ago remembers this laid-back melody drifting soothingly from the radio during the summer and fall of 1975. Gerry Buckley penned this pretty, laid back piano ballad about a guy returning to Memphis to hopefully reestablish this relationship with his girlfriend. It was the second piano ballad that Gerry Beckley penned for the group, and had the same style as 'I Need You...a really strong, lovely piano backing up Gerry's vocals, set to a pretty, flowing melody that just put you at ease and made you relax from that first note.

Ever wondered who Daisy Jane was written about?...If you're an America Fan, sure ya have! Fans have for decades tried to figure out who Daisy Jane actually wast, even though Gerry has made it clear that, Like Sister Golden Hair, Daisy Jane wasn't written about anyone in particular.

Daisy Jane was the second single off of Hearts, debuting on The Hot 100 on July 19^th, 1975, just as Sister Golden Hair was fading from the chart. It barely cracked the top 20, snagging the 20-spot eleven weeks after it's debut, and dropping off the charts completely two weeks later. I've always thought that this was somewhat of an unsung hit, because that single week at #20 does not reflect anything about the quality of the song, (I mean it is America that performed it after all!).

This was also the last Top-20 hit that the band would score with the original three members...they wouldn't, in fact, see the Top-20 again for seven years. And the group wouldn't be intact as a trio for but two more years...Dan Peek would leave the group in 1977.

Daisy Jane got got heavy airplay during the late summer and early fall of '75, and you could hear it on Oldies stations up until a few years ago, when it seems to have almost disappeared from the Oldies station play lists. Oh, you'll still hear it once in a while, but it's one of those songs that you can never hear too often. It's a pretty, thoughtful ballad that, for about 3 minutes, seems to take the weight off of you and lets you relax for a bit...and it's kind of become America's forgotten hit.

So Enjoy...Daisy Jane, by America.

You Can Do Magic by America

You Can Do Magic

1982

America

Back in July of 1982, when a light-hearted, percussion-heavy intro led into the line 'I never believe in things... ', it brought America's seven year absence from the Top 20 to a sliding, screeching stop. It took Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley a while to get their momentum back after Dan Peek left in 1977, but when they tapped uber-talented songwriter Russ Ballard to write them a hit, he...well 'Did Magic' 'You Can Do Magic hit the Hot 100 on the last day of July of '82, busted the top 20 five weeks later, and peaked at # 8 on it's 12^th week on the chart, on the 16^th of October. It'd hang on #8 for five weeks (The longest run at peak for any of America's hits). Not only did 'You Can Do Magic' crack the top 10, the album...View From The Ground...made it to #41 on the Top 200 Albums chart.

The song's simply a guy telling the lovely lady he's smitten with just what kind of effect she has on him, and it struck a chord with young music fans in a big way. It was a lighthearted, peppy, catchy song that you couldn't help but smile and move something to when you heard it and like all of America's hits, it was just plain fun to listen to.

You Can Do Magic is still on the radio, regularly, on Oldies stations. Again it's lighthearted, fun, catchy, and deserves to stay around. When things are getting a little too down in life, it's nice to think of a lovely lady who can hypnotize you with her eyes...even if it is just for a shade under 4 minutes!

So Enjoy...and what better video than a tribute to that loveliest of all movie wizards, the lovely Emma Watson, set to You Can Do Magic, by America!

In 2009, Drew Seeley covered 'You Can Do Magic, and it was used as a tribute to another very lovely young TV wizardess named Alex...or actually the very lovely young lady who played her, Selena Gomez.

He didn't do a bad job, but America still owns it, big-time!

Sandman by America

Sandman

1972

America

Every successful band has at least one song that you just know had to have been released as a single, because it was all over the radio. Then, you go to the record store to snap up a single for your collection of vinyl, and...ya can't find it. And when you ask about it, you get a look that indicated that you may have just grown a second head or something, and get told 'They never released that as a single!'

And you think 'Huh????'

Sandman was America's 'Shoulda Been A Single'. Dewey Bunnell penned the song, giving the lyrics his signature cryptic twist while he was at it, It was included on America's first album, got loads of airplay, was well received by their fans, probably could have cracked the Top 20, and possibly the Top 10...but was never released as a single.

When Sandman pops up as a memory for any of us Seventies Kids, it's the chorus we usually remember, and no, we can't figure out who the titular Sandman is either...its a question that's been pondered for 42 or so years or so. And even though Sandman was never released as a single, therefore never charted, it's still a staple on Oldies and Classic Rock stations to this day.

So Enjoy! OH...You think you can build a sand castle? THESE are sand castles! 
Sandman by America!