Very sad news about another musician...again in the space of a few days......
America's great single, Sister Golden Hair, should have had them rivalling Fleetwood Mac for catchy tunes. Horse With No Name, Sandman, Ventura Highway, Muskrat Love, I Need You, Don't Cross The River. So many!
I saw them once at BB King's as a friend is a big fan. I have fond memories of being a kid in the back seat of the car, growing up, listening to the AM radio and America, Tin Man, for example, was part of the soundtrack of growing up in the 1970's-80's.
They came along in 1972 with just the right sound at the right time, filling the gap left by the breakup of CSNY. It's no coincidence that A Horse With No Name was the record that knocked Heart Of Gold out of the #1 spot on the U.S. singles chart. Neil Young hit singles were what Top 40 radio wanted, and if Neil Young couldn't, or wouldn't, provide them, America were there to meet the demand.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-07-27 05:55 by tatters.
against my better wishes, i thought i'd check in here just for a sec to see if there was a thread about Dan - I was so happy to see there was - he was a good friend of mine - one of the loveliest, gentlest people you could imagine - he told me more stories, expressed more frustration and was so brutally honest - every time we spoke i learned something new about life from him - just a wonderful man.
and he could be like a little kid - that beautiful piano part on tin man? he begged george martin (who was producing) to play that - which he did - dan still beamed about that since way back
anyway - good job Sicilian - I'm just a mess over this and it was nice to see smart people talking about Dan - he'd have dug that
ce
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-07-27 06:14 by hbwriter.
America, along with Three Dog Night always got trashed by the rock media. In 1997 I went to a local festival to see Leon Russell. A friend begged me to stay and watch America's set on the same stage. We were there - what the hell? Geez, I hated America. I left very impressed. They were excellent guitar players and in 1997 they could still produce very nice harmonies. I went from a hater to a fan immediately.