America: Demos and Sessions From a Half Century

Formed in London in 1970, America began as a trio made up of singer / songwriters Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley. Throughout the 70s, America scored massive hits: the sublime ‘A Horse With No Name’, the gorgeous ‘I Need You’, then ‘Ventura Highway’, ‘Sister Golden Hair’, ‘Daisy Jane’, and yes, that memorable cover of ‘Muskrat Love’. In the 1980s, America became a duo after the departure of the late Dan Peek, and hit the charts again with ‘You Can Do Magic’ and ‘The Border’.

Beyond the hits, the America catalog is filled with amazing songs, recorded in stunning fidelity in some of the world’s finest studios. Home studios too—Gerry Beckley in particular was a pioneer in home recording dating as far back as 1972. All this recording has generated a large collection of unreleased demos, sessions, and now, newly finished songs—set to see the light of day on the new multi-disc (7 CD/1 DVD) America Half Century Box Set. Producer Jeff Larson was the man tasked with making it a reality.