America (band)

America was a light rock band, most popular in the early 1970s and now best known for their #1 hit "A Horse With No Name".

Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley, all singers and guitarists, met in high school and formed a folk rock group called Daze. After the name change to "America", the group received a contract with Warner Brothers Records. "A Horse With No Name" was the band's debut single, and it peaked at #3 in the United Kingdom, and the album, America reached #14. After heading to the United States, "A Horse With No Name" hit #1 there, and the album did so soon after. "Ventura Highway", the first single off their next album, Homecoming (1972), also became a huge hit. America won Best New Artist at the 1972 Grammy Awards. Homecoming became a huge hit in the US, and slightly less so in the UK. Hat Trick, the group's third album, was a relative failure, but the band's fourth album, Holiday (with new producer George Martin) became a hit. The next album, Hearts (1975) featured the band's second #1 single in the US, "Sister Golden Hair". Hideaway (1976) showed the beginning of America's final decline. Dan Peek left the group, and the duo produced a few more albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s to little fanfare.