Iconic multi-platinum-selling group AMERICA–lead singers, songwriters and guitarists Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell—have announced additional tour dates as part of their 2018 and 2019 world tour leading up to their 50th anniversary next year (*see the full dates below). Writing about a recent show, Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/14/18 noted: “…an array of irresistible hits and more rock edge than expected…If you could have measured the level of ecstasy in the room when Beckley played the opening riff and the band launched into ‘Ventura Highway,’ it would have been staggering…”
Almost 50 years ago, the Grammy Award-winning band was formed by Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek (who departed the band in 1977 and passed away in 2011) after meeting as sons of U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. They released their debut album on Capitol in 1971, which hit #1 in the U.S and featured the #1 Billboard pop hit “Horse With No Name.” The Wall Street Journal (7/17/18) recently interviewed Dewey and Gerry about the evolution of the classic song for Marc Meyers’ recurring “Anatomy of a Song” feature.
AMERICA has influenced generations of musicians with their distinctive brand of acoustic-driven, harmony-rich rock, mixed with pop smarts, in soul-searching classic songs that reflected the times they were living in.
The band’s huge radio success throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s at times overshadowed the lyrical depth of their songs such as the questing “Horse With No Name” (with its environmental message at the end); the frank romantic politics of “Sister Golden Hair”; the war paranoia of “Sandman” (written in part from conversations with returning airmen from Vietnam); and the cautionary life advice of “Don’t Cross The River.”
As further testament to the band’s staying power and influence, AMERICA’s recordings have been licensed for a multitude of placements in films (including American Hustle, The Nice Guys, The Last Unicorn and Girl Most Likely), television shows (among them The Sopranos, Friends, Breaking Bad and Saturday Night Live) and video games (including Grand Theft Auto). See their Soundtrack credits on IMDB here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2085638/
