Sons of American fathers and British mothers, their fathers being military personnel stationed at the West Ruislip USAF base in London, all three attended London Central High in Bushey, Hertfordshire in the mid-60s where they met while playing in two different bands.
They eventually got together and formed the rock band America, honoring the name of the homeland they had hardly even seen during their several travels around the world. They played their first gigs in pubs and clubs in the London area, including some highlights at the Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd had been playing at the beginning of their own career.
Their first LP was recorded at Trident and Morgan studios in London and produced by Ian "Sammy" Samwell, who was known for the hits he had written for Cliff Richard, with the assistance of Jeff Dexter.
The album was initially released in Europe with only moderate success and without the breakout hit "A Horse With No Name." Samwell helped the group to record and persuaded the Warner Brothers label to release the new song on an EP which was highly popular in the United States as well as in Europe.
America the album was re-released with "Horse", and quickly went platinum with the other favorites "I Need You," "Sandman," and "Riverside." Their second album, appropriately named Homecoming, saw the band moving back to the United States to record. The most notable song was "Ventura Highway."
The group's fourth album Holiday had them with George Martin (former producer for The Beatles), who worked with them through Silent Letter in 1979 with much success. The next album, Hearts, featured "Sister Golden Hair" and "Daisy Jane."
Peek left the group after recording Harbor in 1977. The remaining duo produced many more albums and had one more significant radio hit, "You Can Do Magic," reaching #8 on the pop charts in 1982. Their last top-40 hit was "The Border," which went to #33 on the pop charts (and #4 on the adult contemporary charts) the next year.
America continued with consistent live work and sporadic recordings following their departure from Capitol Records in the mid-80s.
In 1982 America provided the soundtrack for the magical anime film The Last Unicorn. Although officially produced by an American company, the film is an important transitional work in the development of Japanese anime, since most of its animation was subcontracted to the Japanese company Topcraft. The music was composed by Jimmy Webb, though performed by America, and the title song was covered many times later on. The tone is wistful and the themes are of loss.
Beckley released a solo set - "Van Go Gan" - in 1999.
Later, in his post-America career, Peek became a born-again Christian and released some highly-successful Contemporary Christian albums. His autobiography "An American Band" chronicles America's most successful period and his own spiritual journey.
Members include:
Gerry Beckley (1970-present) - lead and backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass, harmonica
Dewey Bunnell (1970-present) - lead and backing vocals, guitars
Dan Peek (1970-1977) - lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, harmonica
People in the Valley
America Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Others were waiting to find the night
We stood long just waiting for the picture
Looking at people to see what was right
Soon came the people
From over in the valley
Hundreds of them walking
Then we turned around
And hid out in the alley
Met along the stones
Down Tomorrow Day Lane
Take away the road and no one will remember
How many journeys we hedged in the stone
Friends around will take away the wonder
Sharing a moment of being alone
Soon came the people
From over in the valley
Hundreds of them walking
Towards us in the rain
And we turned around
And hid out in the alley
Met along the stones
Down Tomorrow Day Lane
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ...
Ba da da da da da ba, ba da da da da da ba ba ba ...
The song 'People in the Valley' by America is about a group of people waiting and watching others coming from the valley. The first stanza talks about how some of them came to hang out by the river and how others were waiting for the night. They stood around waiting for a picture and looking at people to see what was right. The following stanza repeats the line "Soon came the people from over in the valley, hundreds of them walking towards us in the rain." It appears that this group becomes overwhelmed by the number of people coming towards them and eventually retreats to 'hide out in the alley' and wait.
The lyrics of this song seem to be about observing the world and people around us. The singer watches as people come and go, and he notes that if you take away the road you will not remember the many journeys they had. This verse can be interpreted to mean that people miss out on significant moments in their lives because they are too busy moving forward and not taking the time to appreciate what is happening around them. The final repetition of "Soon came the people" illustrates just how different everyone's experiences can be, yet in the end, we are all connected.
Line by Line Meaning
Some came down to hang out by the river
Some people came to hang out by the river.
Others were waiting to find the night
Other people were waiting for the night to arrive.
We stood long just waiting for the picture
We stood for a while waiting for something to happen to capture a moment.
Looking at people to see what was right
We observed people to see what was the right thing to do.
Soon came the people
People arrived soon after.
From over in the valley
They came from across the valley.
Hundreds of them walking
Hundreds of people were walking towards us.
Towards us in the rain
They were coming towards us despite the rain.
Then we turned around
We turned around to leave.
And hid out in the alley
We hid in the alley.
Met along the stones
We met along some stones.
Down Tomorrow Day Lane
We went down Tomorrow Day Lane.
Take away the road and no one will remember
If we remove the road, nobody will remember the many trips we took.
How many journeys we hedged in the stone
We have taken many trips that have been marked by the stone.
Friends around will take away the wonder
Being around friends will remove the sense of wonder.
Sharing a moment of being alone
Sharing a moment of loneliness with someone else.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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