Post by Rob Durkee on Jul 26, 2011 21:26:11 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Dan Peek, a founding member of the group America that burst onto the pop music scene in 1972 with the #1 hit, "A Horse With No Name," has died. He was 60.
According to writer Jim Salter of the Associated Press, Peak was found dead in bed by his wife, Catherine, in their Farmington, Missouri, home on Sunday (July 24, 2011). Farmington is located about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. At presstime, the cause of death was unknown although an autopsy is planned. Peek had been suffering from arthritis although it's not known if that contributed to his passing. Sadly and ironically, Peek's passing came a day after the death of Amy Winehouse, the 2008 Best New Artist Grammy Award Winner. America had won the Best New Artist Grammy in 1973.
America joined acts like James Taylor, the Carpenters, Carly Simon, Helen Reddy and Carole King for the 1970's soft rock sound. Seven of America's Cash Box Top 40 hits were top tenners.
Dan Peek was born November 1, 1950, in Panama City, Florida. Peek, Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley were all sons of United States military personnel when they met at London's Central High School in Bushey Park. According to writer Fred Bronson, Beckley's father was the commanding officer of the nearby military base. He'd handed all three their Class-of-1969 high school diplomas. Originally, the trio was part of a five-man band called Daze. When the other two Daze members left the group, the three decided to become an acoustic sounding group. While some sources claim they named themselves after an American-brand jukebox at a London nightclub, the much more widely believed theory is that they came up with their group name to honor their native country.
After performing mostly on the military base, Jeff Dexter and Ian Samwell became their agents about 1971. Later that year, Samwell got the group a record deal with Warner Brothers Records. Originally, the plan was to release a song written by Beckley, "I Need You", as the leadoff single off the group's debut album. However, at the last moment, the group instead went with the last song recorded for the LP. It was a song Bunnell had written about his memories of the desert countryside when he and his parents were at Vandenburg Air Force Base along California's Pacific coast. Bunnell was also homesick to return to the USA when he wrote "A Horse With No Name." The song became the #1 hit in the United States by late March of 1972. When the song was first a chart-topper on "American Top 40," Casey Kasem didn't introduce the song. Instead, Dick Clark did as a fill-in for Casey. "A Horse With No Name" would be ranked #18 for 1972 by Cash Box Magazine.
America's next two principle singles released both reached #8 on the Cash Box chart later on in 1972..."I Need You" and "Ventura Highway." Bunnell wrote the latter not as a memory of the major street (Ventura Blvd.) that's located in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Encino of the San Fernando Valley. Instead, he wrote "Ventura Highway" as the result of a flat tire near a freeway that happened while traveling with his parents in the Oxnard/Ventura area of southern California father up the coast from la-la land. After this writer's favorite America song, "Don't Cross The River," reached #20 in the spring of 1973, the group suffered a bit of a dry spell. America had only one other Top 40 hit in 1973 with the #33-peaking "Muskrat Love" that would later be a hit for the Captain And Tennille.
The group's fortunes changed in 1974, when the legendary producer of the Beatles, George Martin, took the group under his wing. Martin did so under one key condition. The group had to return to England from the USA to record their material. Martin made that demand because America had taken way too long to record its albums in the USA. The George Martin producing touch led to two top tens alone for America in late 1974... "Tin Man" (#6) and "Lonely People" (#10). Martin's producing led to two more hits for America in 1975..."Sister Golden Hair" (#2) and "Daisy Jane" (#27). Martin's producing also helped on "Today's The Day," a #24 Cash Box pop chart in 1976. That was the year Peek left America, which would then become a duo of Bunnell and Beckley.
America would wait about six years before chalking up its last two top 40 hits with "You Can Do Magic" (#8, 1982) and "The Border" (#34, 1983). The beginning of "You Can Do Magic" was the result of the group recording the sound of a cymbal being hit. The recording of that cymbal didn't stop until the its sound faded away for good. Then, America took that recording, sped it up and played it backwards to come up with the unique start to "You Can Do Magic."
After Peek left America, he became a Contemporary Christian singer. His debut solo album, "All Things Are Possible" made #1 on a Christian LP chart and earned a Grammy nomination. The title song made the Cash Box pop chart in 1979, reaching #95. Peek continued to write and record songs at his Farmington home's studio right up until his death. He had his own website and wrote the book, "An American Band: The America Story."
On the group America''s website, Beckley wrote, "Dan and his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all."
Dan Peek, a founding member of the group America that burst onto the pop music scene in 1972 with the #1 hit, "A Horse With No Name," has died. He was 60.
According to writer Jim Salter of the Associated Press, Peak was found dead in bed by his wife, Catherine, in their Farmington, Missouri, home on Sunday (July 24, 2011). Farmington is located about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. At presstime, the cause of death was unknown although an autopsy is planned. Peek had been suffering from arthritis although it's not known if that contributed to his passing. Sadly and ironically, Peek's passing came a day after the death of Amy Winehouse, the 2008 Best New Artist Grammy Award Winner. America had won the Best New Artist Grammy in 1973.
America joined acts like James Taylor, the Carpenters, Carly Simon, Helen Reddy and Carole King for the 1970's soft rock sound. Seven of America's Cash Box Top 40 hits were top tenners.
Dan Peek was born November 1, 1950, in Panama City, Florida. Peek, Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley were all sons of United States military personnel when they met at London's Central High School in Bushey Park. According to writer Fred Bronson, Beckley's father was the commanding officer of the nearby military base. He'd handed all three their Class-of-1969 high school diplomas. Originally, the trio was part of a five-man band called Daze. When the other two Daze members left the group, the three decided to become an acoustic sounding group. While some sources claim they named themselves after an American-brand jukebox at a London nightclub, the much more widely believed theory is that they came up with their group name to honor their native country.
After performing mostly on the military base, Jeff Dexter and Ian Samwell became their agents about 1971. Later that year, Samwell got the group a record deal with Warner Brothers Records. Originally, the plan was to release a song written by Beckley, "I Need You", as the leadoff single off the group's debut album. However, at the last moment, the group instead went with the last song recorded for the LP. It was a song Bunnell had written about his memories of the desert countryside when he and his parents were at Vandenburg Air Force Base along California's Pacific coast. Bunnell was also homesick to return to the USA when he wrote "A Horse With No Name." The song became the #1 hit in the United States by late March of 1972. When the song was first a chart-topper on "American Top 40," Casey Kasem didn't introduce the song. Instead, Dick Clark did as a fill-in for Casey. "A Horse With No Name" would be ranked #18 for 1972 by Cash Box Magazine.
America's next two principle singles released both reached #8 on the Cash Box chart later on in 1972..."I Need You" and "Ventura Highway." Bunnell wrote the latter not as a memory of the major street (Ventura Blvd.) that's located in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Encino of the San Fernando Valley. Instead, he wrote "Ventura Highway" as the result of a flat tire near a freeway that happened while traveling with his parents in the Oxnard/Ventura area of southern California father up the coast from la-la land. After this writer's favorite America song, "Don't Cross The River," reached #20 in the spring of 1973, the group suffered a bit of a dry spell. America had only one other Top 40 hit in 1973 with the #33-peaking "Muskrat Love" that would later be a hit for the Captain And Tennille.
The group's fortunes changed in 1974, when the legendary producer of the Beatles, George Martin, took the group under his wing. Martin did so under one key condition. The group had to return to England from the USA to record their material. Martin made that demand because America had taken way too long to record its albums in the USA. The George Martin producing touch led to two top tens alone for America in late 1974... "Tin Man" (#6) and "Lonely People" (#10). Martin's producing led to two more hits for America in 1975..."Sister Golden Hair" (#2) and "Daisy Jane" (#27). Martin's producing also helped on "Today's The Day," a #24 Cash Box pop chart in 1976. That was the year Peek left America, which would then become a duo of Bunnell and Beckley.
America would wait about six years before chalking up its last two top 40 hits with "You Can Do Magic" (#8, 1982) and "The Border" (#34, 1983). The beginning of "You Can Do Magic" was the result of the group recording the sound of a cymbal being hit. The recording of that cymbal didn't stop until the its sound faded away for good. Then, America took that recording, sped it up and played it backwards to come up with the unique start to "You Can Do Magic."
After Peek left America, he became a Contemporary Christian singer. His debut solo album, "All Things Are Possible" made #1 on a Christian LP chart and earned a Grammy nomination. The title song made the Cash Box pop chart in 1979, reaching #95. Peek continued to write and record songs at his Farmington home's studio right up until his death. He had his own website and wrote the book, "An American Band: The America Story."
On the group America''s website, Beckley wrote, "Dan and his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all."