America Songs Ranked

America is an American rock band that was formed in London in 1970 by 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.
The band came together shortly after the members’ graduation from high school, and a record deal with Warner Bros. Records followed. Its debut 1971 album, America, included the transatlantic hits “A Horse with No Name” and “I Need You”; Homecoming (1972) included the single “Ventura Highway”; and Hat Trick (1973), a modest success on the charts that fared poorly in sales, included one minor charting song “Muskrat Love”. 1974’s Holiday featured the hits “Tin Man” and “Lonely People”; and 1975’s Hearts generated the number one single “Sister Golden Hair” alongside “Daisy Jane”. History: America’s Greatest Hits, a compilation of hit singles, was released the same year and was certified multiplatinum in the United States and Australia. Peek left the group in 1977 and their commercial fortunes declined, despite a brief return to the top 10 in 1982 with the single “You Can Do Magic”. The band’s final Top 40 hit was “The Border”, which reached no.33 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. Here are all of America’s songs ranked.

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14. Saturn Nights (Homecoming, 1972)

“Saturn Nights” is pleasant enough, a piano driven tune, and another shade of America, a tune that can only be tolerated because you know once you get through it your little 45 single journey is over.”

13. I Need You (Golden Love Songs, Volume 11: Just the Two of Us, 1988)

“This was a great follow up to their smash debut single “Horse With No Name”. Gerry’s soft touch on piano keys united with his sorta pleading vocals of the song singing “I Need You” lyrics, entwine together beautifully!”

12. Only in Your Heart (Homecoming, 1972)

“Mary is getting older and is wasting her time on a guy who doesn’t want the relationship as much as she does. Instead of sticking with this dead-end relationship, she should hold out for the right guy. But because she is conscious of her age she feels he is the only choice now.”

11. Woman Tonight (Hearts, 1975)

“Woman Tonight” has an exciting, unexpected musical structure to the song. … Only years later did I ever realize that this song, like so many other songs by AMERICA, was produced by George Martin— who helped shape the Beatles distinctive sound with layered orchestrations. It’s actually one of my favorite songs by America and always puts me in a good mood.”

10. All My Life (Silent Letter, 1979)

“Great song, one of my favorites from America. Never understood why it wasn’t a bigger hit. This was not a very popular album for America but it is really great.”

9. Inspector Mills (View from the Ground, 1982)

“I think it’s about a man hiding his girl from a cop who might be pursued by the law… This is the America of the early 80s and they sound great..”

See more: America Albums Ranked

8. Don’t Cross The River (Homecoming, 1972)

“The lyrics are Peek’s advice to a lost and lonely girl who loves life in the fast lane but feels emptiness within. He tells her, “Don’t cross the river if you can’t swim the tide,” meaning that if she is going to live life for her own fleshly reasons, she will likely be unhappy and do not expect otherwise. He invites her to accept Jesus by reminding her that “If you want, you can ride my train and soon forget the reason that you’re leaving” – leaving the old life behind, and that “You’ll lose yourself but then some time, maybe even save yourself some grieving'” – you’ll leave certain pleasures behind but soon forget about them and save yourself many heartaches and hours of loneliness. Great song!!”

7. Tin Man (Holiday, 1974)

“This clearly means that people go on a journey or quest for love and validation from others, like the Tinman sought a heart from the Wizard, “Oz,” or Sir Galahad sought the Holy Grail; but it’s a trap, since it can’t be found that way– rather, the person has it all along, and needs to believe in themselves.”

6. Daisy Jane (Hearts, 1975)

“These three men were iconic decades ago and it is refreshing to know that their music still holds up today on contemporary adult radio. We grew up with America and they never let us down. More of today’s bands should pay attention to the detail of the three-part harmonies which were done in a studio with Reel-to-Reel tape, no synthesizers or recording software. Analog tools and real talent.”

See more: All American Rejects Albums Ranked

5. Lonely People (Holiday, 1974)

“Dan has racked up another hit single for the group! This is the song that will be always be associated with the late Dan Peek. Great harmonica added to the song that makes it what it is! Even by the classic cartoon sketch of the trio, you can still see that, they wore the 70’s look.”

4. You Can Do Magic (View from the Ground, 1982)

“I love this song but you don’t hear it much on the radio–so being able to download the single song is perfect. My teen daughters don’t get the song—but i think it is one of the best songs ever written.”

3. Ventura Highway (Homecoming, 1972)

“One of America’s best, this smooth and melodic tune about a drifter’s search for an eternal summer evokes a sense of wanderlust in the listener very effectively. Great road trip tune. Nicely done and always good to hear again.”

2. Sister Golden Hair (Hearts, 1975)

“Sister Golden Hair Surprise! Such a simple song lyrically, but man it hits me so hard — there’s not a moment of this that doesn’t strike me as true and pure, and the singer’s longing over Ms. Surprise is palatable in both the melancholy guitar lines and his emotive vocal delivery. Also, it’s just always a nice song to sing with others in the car whenever it comes on (approximately every hour).”

1. A Horse with No Name (America, 1971)

“Who could ever forget this song? The poetic lyrics, the striding guitar strum, the rich vocals… everything a classic should have is here. Some said it was a song about drug use, others (including members of the band) insist it wasn’t. To me, it’s just a great song about a man and a horse that you can hum to yourself immediately. Words can only do it so much justice, really; the song speaks for itself.”