America (America album)

America is the eponymous debut album released by America in 1971. The album was initially released without "A Horse With No Name," which had not yet been recorded. When "Horse" became a worldwide hit in early 1972, the album was re-released with that track.

The album went to number 1 on the Billboard album chart in the US^[1] and stayed there for 5 weeks. It produced two hit singles, "A Horse With No Name" spent three weeks at number 1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1972 (it peaked at number 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart), and "I Need You" hit number 9 on the Billboard singles chart and number 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[2] Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "Sandman" (long rumored in the US Navy to be about the VQ-2 air squadron formerly based in Rota, Spain) and "Three Roses". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 1 million units in the US.

Reception

In his Allmusic review music critic David Cleary called the band's debut album a "folk-pop classic" and "In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended."^[3]

Track listing

1. "Riverside" – (Dewey Bunnell) 3:03
2. "Sandman" – (Bunnell) 4:08
3. "Three Roses" – (Bunnell) 3:54
4. "Children" – (Bunnell) 3:07
5. "A Horse with No Name" – (Bunnell) 4:10
6. "Here" – (Gerry Beckley) 5:30
7. "I Need You" – (Beckley) 3:05
8. "Rainy Day" – (Dan Peek) 2:55
9. "Never Found the Time" – (Peek) 3:50
10. "Clarice" – (Beckley) 4:01
11. "Donkey Jaw" – (Peek) 5:17
12. "Pigeon Song" – (Bunnell) 2:18

Chart positions

Personnel

• Gerry Beckley – Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Chimes, Piano
• Dewey Bunnell – Vocals, Guitars
• Dan Peek – Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Bass
• Dave Atwood - Drums
• Ian Samwell - Producer
• Jeff Dexter - Executive producer
• Ray Cooper - Percussion
• Kim Haworth - Drums
• David Lindley - Electric guitar
• Ken Scott - Engineering
• Nigel Waymouth - Cover photos and design
• Flash Fox - Logo & graphics

References