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Biography
BLP sources|date=April 2012Infobox musical artist | name = Gerry Beckley| image = Gerry Beckley (America) - TopPop 1972 1.png| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Gerald Linford Beckley| birth_date = birth date and age|1952|9|12|df=y| origin = Fort Worth, Texas | instrument = Guitar, Piano| genre = Rock music|Rock , Acoustic music|acoustic | occupation = Singer , songwriter | years_active = 1970–present| label = Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros. , Capitol Records|Capitol , Rhino Records|Rhino , American Gramaphone , Oxygen, Burgundy Records|Burgundy | associated_acts = America (band)|America , Carl Wilson | website = http://www.gerrybeckley.com Official Site Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley (born September 12, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas ) is a founding member of the band America (band)|America . http://news.google.com/newspapers? id=kP5VAAAAIBAJ& sjid=UeIDAAAAIBAJ& pg=6466,3365979& dq=gerry+beckley+founder+america& hl=en America, It's a group with no theme, says singer
Beckley was born to an United States|American father, and an English (people)|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.
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 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 got a recording contract with the UK division of Warner Brothers Records. Beginning with their fourth album, Holiday (America album)|Holiday , they began recording under the auspices of former Beatles producer Sir George Martin . Beckley and Bunnell said the name 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.
America's songs include " A Horse With No Name ", their debut single (music)|single which went to Chart-topper|number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; " Sister Golden Hair " (also #1 on Billboard, but in 1975); " Tin Man (song)|Tin Man "; " I Need You (America song)|I Need You "; " Ventura Highway ", " You Can Do Magic (song)|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 along with Bunnell. With Bunnell, Beckley continues touring worldwide as "America". In 2007, America returned to the Billboard album charts with the much heralded album Here & Now (America album)|Here & Now . It contains 12 new songs and 12 live songs.
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 (band)|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 (TV series)|Spicks and Specks . http://www.abc.net.au/tv/spicksandspecks/txt/s1873731.htm Episode Seven Spicks and Specks
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.
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.
http://www.starclustermusic.de/artists/america/beckley/bio/beckley1.htm Sessions, etc.
America (band) Persondata | NAME = Beckley, Gerry | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = September 12, 1952 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Beckley, Gerry Category:Living people Category:1952 births Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:American rock guitarists Category:American people of English descent Category:American soft rock musicians Category:Military brats Category:America (band) members
