America co-founder Dewey Bunnell celebrated his 74th birthday on January 19. Bunnell is one of the three singer-songwriters who formed the folk-rock group around 1970 near London, England. Dewey and his bandmates, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek, were the sons of U.S. Air Force personnel who were stationed in England when they met and began collaborating.
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All three members wrote songs individually that became hits for America, although Bunnell and Beckley generally composed the majority of the group’s most popular tunes. Peek parted ways with America in 1977, and the group continued as a duo. Dan passed away in 2011 at age 60. Beckley retired from touring with America in 2024, leaving Bunnell as the last active original member still in the group.
In honor of Bunnell’s birthday, here’s a look at four of the biggest hits he wrote or co-wrote for America:
“A Horse With No Name” (1972)
America found chart-topping success right out of the gate. The group’s Bunnell-penned debut single, “A Horse With No Name,” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March and April of 1972. The acoustic folk-rock tune, which bears the heavy influence of Neil Young, tells of a mystical trip through the desert. The song’s harmonies are even reminiscent of Young’s work with Crosby, Stills & Nash.
“A Horse With No Name” was released as a single in the U.K. and several other European countries in November 1971, and in the U.S. in January 1972. Interestingly, America didn’t initially include the track on its self-titled debut album, which was also released in January 1972.
When “A Horse With No Name” became an international hit, America’s label added it to the album and re-released it.
“Ventura Highway” (1972)
“Ventura Highway” is a breezy, melodic folk-pop song with an infectious acoustic-guitar riff played by Beckley and Peek. Written by Bunnell, the tune evokes a whimsical drive down the Pacific Coast Highway in California.
The song was released as a single in September 1972. It was also included on America’s second album, Homecoming, which arrived in November 1972. “Ventura Highway” reached No. 8 on the Hot 100. The guitar riff in “Ventura Highway” later served as inspiration for the theme to the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch “The Californians.”
“Tin Man” (1974)
“Tin Man” was the lead single of America’s fourth album, Holiday, which was released in June 1974. The song’s title and lyrics and some of its lyrics were inspired by The Wizard of Oz, which Bunnell said was his favorite film when he was a kid.
The tune also features enigmatic, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Holiday was the first of a five consecutive America studio albums produced by George Martin. Martin also played piano on “Tin Man.”
The song reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“The Border” (1983)
During the late 1970s and into the early 80s, America experienced a commercial lull. That changed in 1982, when they released “You Can Do Magic,” a slick, upbeat pop tune written by Russ Ballard. The song, which appeared on America’s 10 studio album, View From The Ground, peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Ballard went on to produce America’s next album, 1983’s Your Move, and he also wrote most of the songs on that record.
Bunnell co-wrote the lead single from Your Move with Ballard, a synth-driven pop-rock tune titled “The Border.”
Ballard initially submitted the song to the group, but Bunnell wasn’t happy with the lyrics and offered to rewrite them.
Dewey explained in the liner notes to America’s 2000 compilation Highway, “Because [Ballard] was very British, he had used some cliché lyrics that, to us as Americans, sounded incongruous. He was trying to get a desperado-type feel but used words like Pasadena. The lyrics just didn’t get the whole border thing and that Mexicali feel that he was envisioning. I asked to rewrite it, and he was receptive, so I wrote a story about running away and trying to escape something.”
“The Border” reached No. 33 on the Hot 100 and is America’s last Top-40 hit to date on the chart. It also peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary tally.
(Photo by Johnny Louis/WireImage)
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