Artist Survey #17: America

[Dawn]

This week's survey subject is:

America



Favorite group member: Gerry Beckley

Favorite America songs:
1. Tin Man
2. Ventura Highway
3. Sister Golden Hair
4. You Can Do Magic
5. A Horse With No Name
6. I Need You
7. Old Man Took
8. The Border
9. Cast the Spirit
10. Riverside
11. Three Roses
12. Daisy Jane
13. Sandman
14. Don’t Cross the River
15. Today’s the Day

Most underrated song: Old Man Took

Any songs you feel are overrated? None

Best vocals: A Horse With No Name

Best instrumentation: Sister Golden Hair

First America song you can remember hearing: A Horse With No Name

Favorite album: America

Favorite album cover: Hearts

First 45 you owned: A Horse With No Name/I Need You
First LP: Hideaway
First cassette: History: America’s Greatest Hits
First CD: Complete Greatest Hits

[SAT-I need more room!!]

Great pic! Gotta love the greasy hair! I swear back then it was natural and these days guys in music get STYLED that way.


15. Sleigh Ride
14. The Border
13. You Can Do Magic
12. Muskrat Love
11. Woman Tonight
10. Sandman
9. Only in Your Heart
8. Don’t Cross the River
7. A Horse With No Name
6. Ventura Highway
5. I Need You
4. Lonely People
3. Daisy Jane
2. Tin Man
1. Sister Golden Hair

Underrated-The Border

Overrated-Not really, closest being You Can Do Magic

Vocals-Daisy Jane!

Instrumentation-Sister Golden Hair

First heard-Probably Horse With No Name

Fave album-haven't gotten into individual albums yet, probably the one with Sister Golden Hair & Daisy Jane.

Fave cover-Not sure

First 45-None, other than a hand me down I think, maybe of Horse With No Name
LP-That one I just got this summer, whatever the name was! LOL!
cassette-none
CD-History

[Pete70s]

Favorite group member: Dewey (he wrote all the best songs!)

Favorite America songs:
Riverside
Sandman
Three Roses
Children
Here
Rainy Day
Never Found The Time
Clarice
Donkey Jaw
A Horse With No Name
I Need You
Everyone I Meet Is From California
To Each His Own
Don't Cross The River
Moon Song
Only In Your Heart
Till The Sun Comes Up Again
Cornwell Blank
Head And Heart
California Revisited
Saturn Nights
Ventura Highway
Tin Man
Sister Golden Hair
Woman Tonight
Today's The Day
You Can Do Magic
The Border
Most underrated song:

Any songs you feel are overrated? A Horse With No Name (Don't get me wrong, I like it, but the rest of that first album is SO overshadowed by it! And it wasn't even ON the first pressing!)

Best vocals: Rainy Day

Best instrumentation: Donkey Jaw

First America song you can remember hearing: A Horse With No Name

Favorite album: America (my second favorite album of all-time!)

Favorite album cover: Homecoming

First 45 you owned: None
First LP: America
First cassette: History
First CD: Homecoming#nosmileys

[djdave]

Favorite group member: Dewey Bunnell

Favorite America songs:
1. Sister golden hair
2. I need you
3. Tin man
4. Daisy Jane
5. Ventura highway
6. You can do magic
7. Lonely people
8. Muskrat love
9. Today's the day
10. Woman tonight
11. Don't cross the river
12. Sandman


Most underrated song: Daisy Jane

Any songs you feel are overrated? Horse with no name

Best vocals: I need you

Best instrumentation: Sister golden hair

First America song you can remember hearing: Horse With No Name

Favorite album: Hearts

Favorite album cover: no preference, but History is most memorable

First 45 you owned: none
First LP: History
First cassette: none
First CD: Complete Greatest Hits (same here)

[Ken]

Oh yeah!

Great 70's era pic

Favorite group member: A toss up between Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell

Favorite America songs:
1.Sister Golden Hair
2.I Need You
3.Ventura Highway
4.Don't Cross The River
5. A Horse With No Name
6.You Can Do Magic
7.Sandman
8.Tin Man
9.Lonely People
10.God Of The Sun
11.Only In Your Heart
12.To Each His Own
13.Daisy Jane
14.Amber Cascades
15.The Border

Most underrated song: God Of The Sun

Any songs you feel are overrated? None

Best vocals: I Need You

Best instrumentation: Sister Golden Hair

First America song you can remember hearing: A Horse With No Name

Favorite album: America

Favorite album cover: America

First 45 you owned: A Horse With No Name/ Sister Golden Hair (Warner Bros "Gold Standard" reissue)
First LP: History: America's Greatest Hits
First cassette: None
First CD: The Definitive America

[55dodger]

Group Member: Dewey
Songs:
Sister Golden Hair
Horse With No Name
Don't Cross the River
Ventura Highway
I Need You
Sandman
Woman Tonight
Daisy Jane
Today's the Day
Tin Man
Lonely People
Underrated: Maybe Ventura Highway
Overrated: Muskrat Love
First Song: Horse With No Name
Vocals: Ventura Highway
Instrumentation: Sister Golden Hair
Fave album: Only have the Greatest Hits album
Cover: History is good
45: None
Album: History
Cassette: None
CD: Upgraded History to CD

[Dawn]

SAT-Laney's said:

15. Sleigh Ride

LP-That one I just got this summer, whatever the name was! LOL!

I need to pick up that Christmas CD. I've heard a few of the songs from it, and enjoyed them! I remember back in Nov. or Dec. of 2002, Gerry and Dewey appeared on CNN Headline News and sang one of the songs from it.

LOL! That's Hideaway, the same one I got first. Some very good songs on it!

[Dawn]

Pete70s said:

Any songs you feel are overrated? A Horse With No Name (Don't get me wrong, I like it, but the rest of that first album is SO overshadowed by it! And it wasn't even ON the first pressing!)

Favorite album: America (my second favorite album of all-time!)

I agree with you that A Horse With No Name, great as it is, overshadows the rest of the album. There are quite a few others on it that would have made very strong singles as well.

I love that album also! I need to get it on CD one of these days. I wish all their catalog was available on CD, but a couple of the titles seem to be out of print, at least domestically.

[Dawn]

DJ said:

Favorite America songs:
8. Muskrat love

The guys do a really nice version of this song, I agree.

[Dawn]

Ken said:

Oh yeah!

Great 70's era pic

Favorite group member: A toss up between Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell

Thanks, Ken!

I'm the same way - although I listed Gerry, it's a very close call between him and Dewey as my favorite as well. Dan has done some good work also - I have one of his solo LPs and a cassette.

[Dawn]

55dodger said:

Underrated: Maybe Ventura Highway

I agree with you about Ventura Highway being underrated. At one point, it got fairly regular play on the oldies stations here, but I've hardly heard it in recent months, and I don't think it got much radio play back in the '70s, at least not that I remember.

[njamateurguitar]

Great band!!!
Is it true the rumor I heard that Horse with no name is about trying to withdraw from heroin? Thanks