Gerry Beckley
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| Gerry Beckley | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gerald Linford Beckley |
| Born | 12 September 1952 |
| Origin | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Genres | Rock, acoustic |
| Occupations | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, Piano |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros., Capitol, Rhino, American Gramaphone, Oxygen Records, Burgundy |
| Associated acts | America Carl Wilson |
| Website | Official Site |
Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley (born September 12, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas) is a founding member of the band America.
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.
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[edit] Start of America
In 1967, Beckley's father became the commander at the United States Air Force base at West Ruislip, near London. Gerry attended London Central High School in Bushey, Hertfordshire, where he played in various school bands and met his soon-to-be band members, 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 fellow classmate, Dave Atwood. America got a recording contract with the UK division of Warner Brothers Records. Beginning with their fourth album, Holiday, they began recording under the auspices of former Beatles producer Sir George Martin. No doubt some of the inspiration for the name of their band derived from the fact that they were all Americans (although Beckley and Bunnell said it was inspired from an "Americana" jukebox on the base where they lived when they were forming the band - from PRI, Bob Edwards Weekend interview of Beckley and Bunnell, March 17, 2007) living in England. During the early days of their career, America toured with Jimi Hendrix.
America's songs from that era continue their appeal, especially A Horse With No Name, their debut single which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; Sister Golden Hair (also #1 on Billboard in 1975); Tin Man, I Need You, Ventura Highway, You Can Do Magic and Daisy Jane, amongst others.
Beckley continues to write and record music both as a solo artist and with other musicians well into the first decade of the 21st century along with Bunnell. With Bunnell, Beckley continues touring worldwide as "America". In 2007, America returned to the Billboard album charts with the much heralded CD Here and Now. It contained 12 new songs and 12 live songs (their first greatest hits (History LP)).
[edit] Solo projects
Beckley, Andrew Gold, and Timothy B. Schmidt sang as "Baldwin and the Whiffles", performing "Mr. Sandman", "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane", and "Sh-Boom", in the 1990 John Waters film Cry-Baby.
Beckley has worked with a wide variety of musicians on many projects. One of the most notable is the 2001 recording Like a Brother, performed with Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Robert Lamm of Chicago.
In May 2006, Beckley released another solo album Horizontal Fall which is a steady seller thanks in part to a loyal fan base and Beckley's uncanny ability to find the hook and the harmony; this denotes an amazing longevity for an artist who has had a lasting and significant influence on the music scene for 35 years.
In March 2007, Beckley appeared as a guest on the Australian musical quiz TV show Spicks and Specks on the ABC network.
On April 14, 2007, Beckley appeared as a special guest at a Ben Kweller show at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. Beckley, Kweller, and the band performed Sister Golden Hair together.
Beckley is also a member of Les Deux Love Orchestra.
[edit] Personal life
Beckley is married to wife Kathy with two sons, Matthew and Joe. Matthew is known for producing pop music and touring with Katy Perry for 4 years. Joe is an aspiring photographer in the Los Angeles area.
[edit] Discography
- Gerry Beckley Van Go Gan (1995)
- Gerry Beckley Go Man Go (2000)
- Beckley, Lamm & Wilson Like A Brother (2000)
- Gerry Beckley Horizontal Fall (2006)
- Gerry Beckley Happy Hour (2009)
- Gerry Beckley Unfortunate Casino (2011)
[edit] Sessions (selection)
- Mike Hugg Somewhere (1972)
- Dan Fogelberg Souvenirs (1974)
- Ricci Martin Beached (1977)
- Rick Danko Rick Danko (1977)
- Dennis Wilson Pacific Ocean Blue (1977)
- Dave Mason Mariposa De Oro (1978)
- Jimmy Webb Angel Heart (1982)
- Various Artists Cry Baby – Original Soundtrack (1990)
- Modern Folk Quartet Highway 70 (1995)
- Various Artists For The Love Of Harry – Everybody Sings Nilsson (1995)
- Robert Lamm In My Head (1999)
- Jeff Larson Room For The Summer (2000)
- Jeffrey Foskett Twelve And Twelve (2000)
- Les Deux Love Orchestra Music From Les Deux Cafés (2001)
- Jeff Larson Fragile Sunrise (2002)
- Low Trust (2002)
- Robert Lamm Subtlety And Passion (2003)
- Jeff Larson Sepia (2004)
- Low Great Destroyer (2005)
- Les Deux Love Orchestra King Kong (2005)
- Brian Wilson a.o. One World Project (2005)
- Bill Mumy With Big Ideas (2006)
- Les Deux Love Orchestra Ecstasy (2008)
- Al Jardine A Postcard From California (2009)
- Jeff Larson Heart Of The Valley (2009)
- Les Deux Love Orchestra Planet Claire 3D Maxi-Single (2009)
- Nick Vernier Band Sessions (2010)
[edit] External links
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