A horse with no name...
- Nostra Dam
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
America is an Anglo-American band formed in London in 1970, originally composed of Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. Notably, these members were the sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in England at the time. The band's name is linked to "Americana," a brand of jukeboxes from that era. It also reflects their strong desire to avoid being associated with an English band due to their heritage.
The band signed with Warner Bros. Records a year later, in 1971, which allowed them to release their first album the following year, in 1972. This self-titled debut album featured the opening track, "A Horse with No Name." The song became a massive worldwide hit and is still considered one of the most iconic songs of the late 20th century.
The album was also a worldwide hit, producing a second global Single with the track "I Need You."
1972 was an exceptional year in every respect, as it saw the release of a second album, "Homecoming," which, while less successful overall, still achieved global acclaim. This album was propelled by the massive hit Single "Ventura Highway" and, to a lesser extent, "Don't Cross the River."
Albums followed at an impressive pace, with "Hat Trick" released a year later in 1973. This album, again, met with less success, surviving only thanks to the hit Single "Muskrat Love."
The decline continued the following year, 1974, with the release of "Holiday," an album with limited success, but which, paradoxically, managed to produce two major hit Singles : "Tin Man" and "Lonely People."
Releasing one album per year, it was "Hearts"'s turn in 1975, an album that would get the group back on track, and how ! This was thanks to the massive hit "Sister Golden Hair." This Single gave the group their third global mega-hit and, more importantly, put them back in the game in a truly ideal way.
The album "Hideway" was released a year later in 1976. While a considerable success, it struggled to produce any truly global hit Singles, only managing to break through at the last minute with "Today's the Day."
The next album, "Harbor," followed in 1977, but this time the group suffered a severe fall in the charts due to a clear inability to produce any charting tracks.
Things didn't improve much at the very end of the decade with the 1979 release of the album "Silent Letter," which only narrowly escaped commercial success thanks to the hit Single "All Around." The transition to the next decade saw them struggling just as much, with the 1980 album "Alibi" achieving only limited success.
Just when everything seemed to be going wrong, the band made a spectacular comeback two years later in 1982 with the release of the album "View from the Ground." The album's main draw was the massive Single "You Can Do Magic."
The following album, "Your Move," performed slightly worse than its predecessor in 1983, but ultimately fared reasonably well, thanks in particular to the standout track "The Border."
A major success, but it would be his last, as everything released afterward, whether albums or Singles, achieved only limited success.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
A horse with no name 1972
I need you 1972
Children 1972
Ventura highway 1972
Don’t cross the river 1973
Only in your heart 1973
Muskrat love 1973
Rainbow song 1973
Green monkey 1974
Tin man 1974
Lonely people 1974
Simple life 1975
Sister golden hair 1975
Daisy Jane 1975
Woman tonight 1975
Today’s the day 1976
Amber cascades 1976
She’s a liar 1976
Jet boy blue 1976
God of the sun 1977
Don’t cry baby 1977
Slow down 1977
California dreamin’ 1979
Only game in town 1979
All my life 1979
All around 1979
80s Decade :
You could have been the one 1980
Hangover 1980
Survival 1980
You can do magic 1982
Right before your eyes 1982
Jody 1982
The border 1983
Cast the spirit 1983
The last unicorn 1984
Special girl 1984
Can’t fall asleep to a lullaby 1984
5th Avenue 1989
90s Decade :
The last two to dance 1990
Nothing’s so far away (As yesterday) 1991
Young moon 1994
Hope 1994
Greenhouse 1994
Hark! The herald angels sing 1995
From a moving train 1998
Wednesday morning 1998
Moment to moment 1998
2000s Decade :
Christmas in California 2002
A Christmas to remember 2002
Sleigh ride 2002
Chasing the rainbow 2007
Indian summer 2007
Always love 2007
Love and leaving 2007
2010s Decade :
America 2011
A road song 2011
Caroline 2011
Till I hear from you 2011
Driving 2015
All in all 2015
One horse town 2015
Many colors 2015
Green 2015
Tracks :
1972...it only took one song, THIS song, to propel the band One Shot into the musical legend of the late 20th century. They simply created one of the defining songs of the contemporary music era and immediately established themselves as one of the most talented groups of their generation. MAS-TER-FUL !
1972...one might have feared that the group would not be able to maintain such a level of success with the following title, but they will manage to do so with flying colors regardless...
1972...their first album only officially produced two Singles, but it contains other tracks of undeniable quality. Including this one...
1972...new album and another major success. The group is literally walking on water, and few groups at that precise moment can compete with them, it must be said...
1973...it was obvious that they couldn't maintain such a level of success with Singles indefinitely, but what they continued to release still enjoyed considerable public favor...
1973...just when we thought the group was going to smash everything for years, the landing was going to be painful, to say the least, starting with this track...
1973...there will be a slight improvement with this title, but the fall in the charts was violent during that year, 1973, it must be said...
1973...four tracks were officially released during that year, and two went almost unnoticed, including this one. But what's going on...?
1974...this one will also go completely under the radar, which isn't exactly reassuring. After that, they started so strong that a slump was, to say the least, predictable...
1974...fortunately, the group managed to pull themselves together and get back on track immediately. We're not talking about a return to outright, massive success, but there was a significant return to success nonetheless...
1974...a year that allowed them to show, in any case, that they were firmly on course and that the previous rough patch was now just a bad memory...
1975...the year 1975 started rather slowly with this title, which went somewhat unnoticed. No need to worry, though, when you see what was on the horizon...
1975...and here comes what will remain their second biggest hit. They show the world once again that they certainly didn't get there by chance...
1975...it is clear that the talent of this group is more than certain and that he was certainly not going to stop at just a few major hits...
1975... 1972 will remain their best vintage, but 1975 will come very close. Excellent work, in any case !
1976...a year that started ideally with another major success, admittedly limited to the North American sphere, but it's something at least...
1976...a prize list that grows year after year, with prestigious stars accumulating in a truly impressive way...
1976...unfortunately, the group once again failed to manage its success and plummeted again in 1976...
1976...at least in terms of Singles, because albums sales were still substantial, which allowed the group to remain somewhat in the game...
1977...because as long as albums sales remain stable, it clearly means there's a large audience behind them...
1977...and when you see the quality of what they continue to produce, you realize that the adventure can't end there, that's for sure...
1977...as long as the inspiration remains at this high level, there's no reason for the group to disappear overnight. We just have to wait for better days, as they say...
1979... unusually for them, they decided to revisit a song by others, namely one by Mama's And The Papa's dating from 1965. A bold gamble, and one that was partly successful...
1979...a somewhat lackluster end to the decade with a new album achieving only moderate sales, as were the Singles he produced...
1979... but there will be success, however minimal, which is the most important thing. In any case, it provides reassurance regarding a potentially smooth transition into the next decade...
1979...when you look back on their first decade of their career, the results are certainly impressive. One hit that made history and others that achieved considerable success...
1980...more than one band would be more than satisfied with their prize list, in any case. And the adventure is far from over, believe me...
1980...it remains to be seen how they will manage to navigate the beginning of the 80s decade because musical trends change quickly, very quickly...
1980...and for the moment, adaptation is not the easiest. They will therefore have to ask themselves the right questions and quickly to avoid a setback that could prove irreversible...
1982...and they will obviously ask themselves these questions since they will achieve another major global success here. The essentials are preserved, as they say...
1982...it would have been unimaginable if the group hadn't managed to evolve with the times. Certainly, they did it in their own way, but it worked nonetheless...
1982...this won't work with all the titles, but it doesn't matter, the essential thing is preserved and above all it allows them to continue the adventure at all costs...
1983...especially since albums sales remain at a more than substantial level, which proves de facto that there are still people to support them and, above all, to listen to them...
1983...and we were the first. One might have imagined that their original style wouldn't have adapted well to the 80s, but they managed the transition without too much damage...
1984...certainly they will never regain the incredible level of success they experienced at the beginning of the 70s, but what they continue to produce works perfectly regardless...
1984...a mid-80s decade that allowed them to show once again that they would still be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, at least...
1984...we can only rejoice, in any case. And the die-hard fans certainly won't disagree, always clamoring for more, of course...
1989...they managed to stay afloat during the first half of the decade without too much trouble, but they simply disappeared during the second half...
1990...but here they are again no matter what. They could have stopped everything and been content with an already more than impressive prize list, but that would have been to misunderstand them...
1991... but let's not kid ourselves, their best years are definitely behind them. That doesn't mean they have nothing interesting left to offer, though...
1994... the level of success is now minimal, but there is still some success. For how much longer, that's the question...
1994...they managed to adapt perfectly to the 80s musically speaking, but adapting to the 90s is going to be significantly more complicated at first glance...
1994...it has to be said that their style is far from the standards of the time, let's not kid ourselves. Only the die-hard fans still follow them now...
1995... but that's still a significant number of people, regardless. And as long as they have a minimum base of fans, why throw in the towel prematurely ?
1998...and in principle, who could blame them ? And since anything is always possible in music, who knows if a comeback isn't within the realm of possibility...
1998...in any case, this idea continues to motivate them and drive them forward. Because without hope, however faint, there's no point in going any further...
1998...in any case, they're ending their third decade of their career here, which is no small feat. Now it remains to be seen if they'll have the courage, and above all the strength, to attempt a fourth...
2002...and as is so often the case when a career is more or less at a standstill, nothing beats a good old Christmas album...
2002...and this time they're not going to be so ridiculous. Most people just reuse old standards that have been done a thousand times, but at least they're going to try to vary things a bit...
2002...so the result will at least have the merit of being a little more original than the average album produced in this very particular field...
2007...another five-year hiatus, but here they are again. A comeback that will rhyme with a return to success, proving that nothing is ever truly over in music, as they say...
2007...they managed to perfectly blend old and new trends on this new album, hence its somewhat unexpected success...
2007...a beautiful story that has lasted for 35 years, which proves once again the performance achieved throughout these years and especially these decades...
2007...because many a group, after such a spectacular start, could have quickly faded into obscurity. Not them, in any case...
2011... the production of new titles slowed considerably, let's not kid ourselves, but there was still production nonetheless. And quality production at that...
2011...neither the weight of years, much less decades, has altered their level of inspiration, which has always allowed them to stay afloat as much as possible...
2011...we will continue to enjoy as much as possible everything they have to offer, in any case, because there is really quality in all of this...
2011...a group with a unique originality that has managed to transcend eras and trends without denying himself too much, while still managing to reinvent himself to some extent...
2015...with each new release we hope it won't be the last, and each time they always come back again and again...
2015...and not only are they back, but they're not just coming back for the sake of coming back. They really have something to offer, and high-quality material at that...
2015...admittedly what they continue to offer isn't really going to attract younger generations, but is that really what they're looking for on the other hand...
2015...it would certainly be even better if they managed to attract a new audience, but that remains more or less utopian given their style and especially their sound...
2015...they're moving forward no matter what, slowly but surely, and above all with the firm intention of going as far as possible. So, will there be a sequel or not ? Only time will tell...
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