The world of 1970s soft rock is often looked down upon for self-styled rock music aficionados, but it is difficult for anybody to bemoan the sheer volume of iconic tracks the scene produced. While the genre might not have enjoyed the same edge as glam rock or the same complexities as progressive rock, it still earned its place as a defining sound of the early 1970s. Within the scene, there were few tracks with as enduring a legacy as America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’, which first arose from an amalgamation of unexpected influences.
Formed in 1970, amid the unlikely surroundings of RAF South Ruislip in London, as the sons of US Air Force members, America quickly set about establishing their own brand of soft rock and folk. While many bands spend years honing their craft and landing on a perfected sound, the soft rock trio – made up of Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek – released their defining anthem only a year into their existence. Even those who are not overly familiar with the work of America have probably heard the track ‘A Horse With No Name’.
In November of 1971, ‘A Horse With No Name’ earned America a transatlantic hit single, reaching number three in the UK singles charts and number one in the US a few months later. As a result of its all-encompassing success, the track often reduces America to the reputation of being a one-hit wonder but, in fact, ‘A Horse With No Name’ is only one in a plethora of hits produced by America. Anybody who has ever listened to the track can draw obvious parallels between its distinctive sound and that of folk rock hero Neil Young, but the extent of America’s influences are much broader.
Reportedly, the country-influenced soft rock anthem actually came from the unlikely inspiration of The Beatles. Of course, the Fab Four played a colossal influence on virtually every musician that came after them, but the pioneering psychedelic sounds of records like Revolver or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band seems worlds apart from ‘A Horse With No Name’. Nevertheless, the late Dan Peek said in 2009, “American music began to make huge inroads into the British and European music scene”.
Of that European music scene, there were certainly no bands bigger than The Beatles, so it makes sense that America would embrace the revolutionary sounds of Liverpool’s favourite sons. Beckley later explained the composition of ‘A Horse With No Name’ to Classic Rock, “It all came from that Rubber Soul era, where I noticed The Beatles playing in a more acoustic fashion. So it goes back way before Crosby, Stills & Nash and James Taylor”.
Expanding upon the influence of The Beatles on America’s defining track, Beckley shared, “The Beatles had great harmonies, and harmony goes back long before the so-called ‘singer/songwriter’ era. We were real Beatles freaks. And, of course, The Beach Boys were important, too. So you had these two great wings of creativity”.
It is difficult to imagine any musicians during that period not being “Beatles freaks” as Beckley put it, but it does speak to the unavoidable impact of the Fab Four that even a soft rock or country track could have its lineage traced back to their groundbreaking psychedelia.
