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Gerry Beckley | |
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 Beckley in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gerald Linford Beckley |
| Born | September 12, 1952 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1967–present |
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| Member of | America |
| Website | gerrybeckley |
Gerald Linford Beckley (born September 12, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, and a founding member of the band America. [1]
Beckley was born to an American father and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music band in Virginia. He spent every summer in England and soon discovered British invasion music.
In 1967, Beckley's father became the commander at the United States Air Force base at RAF West Ruislip, near London. Gerry attended London Central High School in Bushey Hall in north west London, where he played in various school bands and met his soon-to-be bandmates, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. Originally, the group played on Friday nights at the local American teen club, mostly doing acoustic covers of Crosby, Stills, and Nash tunes. The original drummer was a classmate, Dave Atwood.
America signed a recording contract with the British division of Warner Bros. Records and found success in 1972 with "A Horse with No Name."
Beckley wrote and sang America's 1972 top-10 hit "I Need You" and its 1975 number-one hit "Sister Golden Hair", as well as its top-20 followup "Daisy Jane". He also sang their '80s top-10 hit "You Can Do Magic".
Beckley continues to write and record music both as a solo artist and with other musicians. With Bunnell, Beckley continues touring worldwide as "America".
In the 1990 John Waters film Cry-Baby , Beckley, Andrew Gold, and Timothy B. Schmit appeared as Baldwin and the Whiffles, performing "Mister Sandman", "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane", and "Sh-Boom".
Beckley has worked with a wide variety of musicians on many projects. In the mid-1970s, he collaborated with David Cassidy on Cassidy's critically acclaimed RCA albums, co-writing, singing, and co-producing. From 1992 to 1997 he collaborated with Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Robert Lamm of Chicago, culminating with the 2000 release of Like a Brother , Wilson's final recordings before his death in 1998.
In May 2006, Beckley released another solo album, Horizontal Fall.
In March 2007, Beckley appeared as a guest on the Australian musical quiz TV show Spicks and Specks . [2] In April 2007, he appeared as a special guest at a Ben Kweller show in Melbourne, Australia. Beckley, Kweller, and the band performed "Sister Golden Hair" together.
Beckley debuted his 2016 Blue Elan Records solo album Carousel on September 7, 2016, with a live performance at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, California. [3]
Beckley is also a member of Les Deux Love Orchestra.
Beckley was married to Eleanor Beckley from 1978 to 1982 and then to Kathy Beckley. He has two sons, Matthew (Born July 16, 1983) and Joe (Born February 22, 1992). Matthew is also a musician; he has toured with Katy Perry and has worked with other artists, including Ke$ha and Britney Spears. [4] [5] Joe is an aspiring photographer in the Los Angeles area. Beckley, now married to an Australian, splits his time between homes in California and Australia. [6]
America are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1970 by US artists Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.
Home Is Where the Heart Is is the second album released on RCA Records by David Cassidy. It was released in 1976 and was produced by Cassidy and Bruce Johnston. Although critically well received, the album did not chart in any country. The album is noted in particular for Cassidy's recording of Paul McCartney's song "Tomorrow" which McCartney rated as taking the song to its ultimate potential.
Getting It in the Street is the third and final release by David Cassidy on RCA Records. This would also be the last album David released in the United States until 1990 and his last all new album until 1985. Gettin' It in the Street was released in Germany and Japan in November 1976, but did not reach the album charts. The few copies that were pressed for the U.S. were released in July 1979.
Robert William Lamm is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for his songwriting, vocals, and keyboard melodies, most significantly on the band's debut studio album, Chicago Transit Authority(1969). Lamm wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including "Questions 67 & 68", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", "25 or 6 to 4", "Saturday in the Park", "Dialogue " and "Harry Truman". Lamm is one of three founding members still performing with the group.
Randell Kirsch is an American musician.
When I'm a Rock 'n' Roll Star is an album by David Cassidy. Released on Razor and Tie Records in 1996 as RE 2117–2, it is a compilation of songs drawn from his three RCA Records albums recorded in 1975 and 1976: The Higher They Climb The Harder They Fall (1975), Home Is Where the Heart Is (1976), and Gettin' It in the Streets (1976).
"A Horse with No Name" is a song by American folk rock trio America. Written by Dewey Bunnell, it was released on the Warner Bros. label, in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States. The song was met with commercial success and topped charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 24, 1972. The song was quickly added to a rerelease of the bands' debut studio album, America. The song is a staple of the group's discography and one of their most popular.
Daniel Milton Peek was an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as co-founder and member (1970-1977) of the band America and a "pioneer in contemporary Christian music".
Lee Merton "Dewey" Bunnell is an English-born American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, and a founding member of the band America.
Hat Trick is the third studio album by the American folk rock trio America, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1973. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard album chart; it failed to go gold, whereas the group's first two releases had platinum sales. The album produced the single, "Muskrat Love", which reached number 67 on the Billboard singles chart and number 11 on the adult contemporary chart. That song would become a much bigger hit for Captain & Tennille three years later.
Holiday is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock band America, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in June 1974. The album was produced in London by longtime Beatles record producer George Martin, the first of seven consecutive albums he produced with America.
Alibi is the ninth studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in 1980.
Your Move is the eleventh studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records on June 3, 1983.
Perspective is the twelfth studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records on September 21, 1984.
In Concert is the second official live album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in July 1985. This was the sixth and last release by America on the Capitol Records label and was the first America album ever issued on the budding compact disc format. This was America's first album that failed to chart. No singles were released from the album.
In Concert is the third officially released live album by American folk rock duo America, released by King Biscuit Records in 1995. The concert itself was recorded on September 4, 1982, at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for an installment of the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show.
The Complete Greatest Hits is the fourth principal major label greatest hits album by American folk rock duo America, released by Rhino Records in 2001. This is the first compilation to feature all 17 of the group's Billboard Hot 100 singles. The album was intended to update and expand upon History: America's Greatest Hits. It includes two new tracks released exclusive to this collection. This was the group's first album to chart since 1984's Perspective, reaching No. 152 on the Billboard albums chart.
Like a Brother is the only collaborative album by America's Gerry Beckley, Chicago's Robert Lamm, and the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson. It was also the final studio album by Wilson. It was released in 2000, two years after Wilson had died from lung cancer, and it was the last album he recorded before his death. The trio first appeared together on a rendition of "Without Her" from the 1995 Harry Nilsson tribute album For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson, followed by "Watching The Time Go By" from Lamm's 1999 solo album In My Head.
"Ventura Highway" is a 1972 song by the band America from their album Homecoming, written by Dewey Bunnell.
Lost & Found is the 18th studio album by America. Released May 5, 2015 by America Records, it is their first album of original material since Here & Now in 2007. It includes music recorded between 2000 and 2011 but not released on previous albums. The song "Driving", an upbeat single, received some airplay and was highly regarded by many.
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