In chronological rock history, the Beatles and America are from two consecutive but different musical eras. While the former members of the Beatles were certainly making music in the years following their split, the Fab Four had called it quits by 1970, and America wouldn’t achieve their breakthrough success with “A Horse with No Name” until 1972.
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The Beatles mastered the jangly experimental sounds of the 1960s, while America established its sound in the sunny, balladeering soft rock of the 1970s. But without the former, the latter might not have existed.
A Studio Connection Between the Beatles and America
Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley, and Dan Peek established America shortly after graduating high school in London in 1970. Their first two albums cemented their place in the decade’s soft rock canon with hits like “A Horse with No Name” and “Ventura Highway.” But by their third album, Hat Trick, the band had lost some of its steam. They struggled to find the same commercial success as their eponymous debut and sophomore Homecoming, leading them to search for a producer who could help build out their sound.
The trio wrote a list of dream producers, and the Beatles’ George Martin was at the top of the list. They decided to take their biggest swing first, and it paid off. Martin agreed, and the British-American rock band traveled from Los Angeles to London to record with Martin for two months. America would ultimately only need 13 days to record, overdub, and mix their fourth full-length album, Holiday, which they released in June 1974.
America’s decision to employ Martin as their producer was not a thoughtless one. Martin was known as the “fifth Beatle” for his extensive work with the Fab Four from their earliest singles. He helped arrange and establish the Beatles’ distinct sound, and that’s precisely the kind of creative energy he brought to America, too. In an interview with Dan Rather, Beckley recalled Martin’s ability to “bring [a song] into focus,” and the results speak for themselves. Recording an album meant to take two months in under two weeks is an impressive feat in its own right.
But the critical reception for America’s fourth album, Holiday, was the icing on the cake. The Martin-America collaboration skyrocketed the band to the top of the charts with singles like “Tin Man” and “Lonely People.”
The Instrumental Connection Between the Two Bands
The Beatles didn’t just inspire America’s choice of producers. They inspired the British-American rock band on an individual musical level. The original trio was going to high school when the Beatles were at the height of their fame, which put the future America bandmates squarely in the Fab Four’s key demographic. Moreover, the musicians attended high school in London, a bona fide Beatlemania hub. Whether subconsciously or not, the Beatles informed the members of America’s future relationship with rock ‘n’ roll.
Gerry Beckley referenced this connection to the Beatles in America’s 1975 hit, “Sister Golden Hair.” In his interview with Dan Rather, he explained, “The intro is a 12-string acoustic followed by some slide guitar. We were raised as Beatles fans, and George Harrison was a dear, dear man, and we got to know him quite well. “My Sweet Lord” had the same kind of approach in the intro, the acoustic guitar, and the slide. It was a bit of a nod to him.”
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