America
Studio album by
America
ReleasedJanuary 1972[1]
Recorded1971
Studio
GenreFolk rock, folk-pop[2]
Length46:14
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerIan Samwell, Jeff Dexter
America chronology
America
(1972)		 Homecoming
(1972)
Singles from America
  1. "A Horse with No Name"
    Released: November 12, 1971 (UK)[3]
  2. "I Need You"
    Released: April 26, 1972 (US)

America is the debut studio album by America, released January 1972. It was initially released without "A Horse with No Name", which was released as a single in Europe in late 1971 and in the US in January 1972. When "A Horse with No Name" became a worldwide hit in early 1972, the album was re-released with that track.

The album went to the top of Billboard's album chart in the United States and stayed there for five weeks.[4] It produced two hit singles, with "A Horse with No Name" which spent three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart in 1972, and "I Need You" hit the ninth position on the Billboard singles chart.[5] Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations, including "Sandman" and "Three Roses". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of one million units in the United States.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

In his AllMusic review, music critic David Cleary called the band's debut album a "folk-pop classic" and concluded, "In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended."[2]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Riverside"Dewey Bunnell3:03
2."Sandman"Bunnell5:08
3."Three Roses"Bunnell3:54
4."Children"Bunnell3:07
5."A Horse with No Name" (Bonus track on 1972 reissue and included on all subsequent reissues)Bunnell4:10
6."Here"Gerry Beckley5:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Need You"Beckley3:05
2."Rainy Day"Dan Peek2:55
3."Never Found the Time"Peek3:50
4."Clarice"Beckley4:01
5."Donkey Jaw"Peek5:17
6."Pigeon Song"Bunnell2:18

Personnel

Credits are per back cover of 1972 vinyl issue.[7]

America

  • Dewey Bunnell – lead and backing vocals, 6-string acoustic guitar (except on "Here" and "Never Found the Time")
  • Gerry Beckley – bass (except on "Three Roses" and "A Horse with No Name"), 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "Sandman", "I Need You" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar and chimes on "Clarice", piano on "I Need You" and "Clarice"
  • Dan Peek – 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "A Horse with No Name", "I Need You", "Clarice" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar (on "Sandman", "Donkey Jaw" and "I Need You"), piano on "Never Found the Time", bass on "A Horse with No Name" and "Three Roses"

with:

  • Ray Cooper – percussion
  • Dave Atwood – drums on "Sandman", "Here", "I Need You" and "Donkey Jaw"
  • Kim Haworth – drums on "A Horse with No Name"
  • David Lindley – electric guitar on "Children", steel guitar on "Rainy Day"

Technical

Charts

Chart (1971-1972) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 9
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 22
Spain (AFYVE)[12] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 14
US Billboard 200[14] 1

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 16.
  2. 1 2 3 Cleary, David. America > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 16.
  4. ↑ America – America > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album at AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
  5. ↑ America – America > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
  6. ↑ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "America". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 16. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ↑ America. America (Media notes). Warner Bros. Records. Back cover. LC-0392.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7711". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  11. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – America – America". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  13. ↑ "America | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "America Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – America – America". Music Canada.
  16. ↑ "great britain's million sellers, 1972-73" (PDF). Cash Box. 6 July 1974. p. 8, Part II. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – America – America". Recording Industry Association of America.
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