America is a rock band, most popular in the early and mid 1970s and now bes… Read Full Bio ↴America is a rock band, most popular in the early and mid 1970s and now best known for their #1 hits "A Horse With No Name" and "Sister Golden Hair." Comprised of Gerry Beckley (September 12, 1952 - ), Dewey Bunnell (January 19,1952 - ), and Dan Peek (November 1, 1950 - July 24, 2011), they were seldom a favorite with critics, but were exceptionally successful commercially selling both singles and albums. Despite the presence of other heavyweight acts like James Taylor and Rod Stewart on their roster, America was Warner Brothers Records' biggest selling act of the 1970s.

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

What Does It Matter
America Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Great hits of the sixties)
Look the lady's got a photograph
Silver framed and velvet backed
Well, she took it quite a while ago
Funny that she never let me know

What does it matter to me
If it doesn't show

I just don't know
It's only just a memory
Just a little history
Oh, oh, oh

And now she's wearing satin shoes
Gilded hair to pay the dues
I guess that I should tip my hat
I wonder if she'd think of looking back

What does it matter to me
If it doesn't show
I just don't know
It's only just a memory
Just a little history
Oh, oh

In the parking lot late at night
Paper straws never worked out right
I knew I wanted to
But didn't know why

So I just said "Hi"
(Everybody sing along now)

Overall Meaning

The song "What Does it Matter" by America talks about a man who discovers that a lady he used to know has a photograph of herself that he has never seen before. The photograph is in a silver frame with velvet backing and was taken quite a while ago. The man is wondering why she never let him know in the past, indicating that the two were once close. However, he dismisses the importance of the photograph, questioning what it matters to him now. He acknowledges that it is just a memory and a little part of history.

The man describes how the lady has changed since they last met, wearing satin shoes and having gilded hair as though she has paid her dues. The man thinks about whether he should tip his hat to her if he ever saw her again, wondering if she would even look back at him. The lyrics suggest the man is unsure about his feelings and whether he still has a connection with the lady. The song ends with a reminiscence of the man's past, recalling a time in a parking lot where he couldn't bring himself to approach the lady and just said "Hi."

Overall, the song is nostalgic and reflective, expressing the idea that memories and past relationships can be bittersweet. It also shows that time and distance can change people's perspectives and feelings towards each other.

Line by Line Meaning

Look the lady's got a photograph
The lady has a picture

Silver framed and velvet backed
The picture is in a fancy frame

Well, she took it quite a while ago
The picture was taken a long time ago

Funny that she never let me know
It's strange that she never showed me the picture

What does it matter to me
Why should I care

If it doesn't show
If the picture isn't visible

I just don't know
I'm not sure

It's only just a memory
The picture is just a memory of the past

Just a little history
It's just a small part of the past

And now she's wearing satin shoes
The lady is now wearing fancy shoes

Gilded hair to pay the dues
She has fancy hair as a sign of her success