America is the eponymous debut album by America, released in 1971. It was initially released without "A Horse with No Name", which had not yet been recorded. When "Horse" became a worldwide hit in early 1972, the album was re-released with that track.
The album went to #1 on the Billboard album chart in the US[1] and stayed there for five weeks. It produced two hit singles; "A Horse with No Name" spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1972 (it peaked at #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart), and "I Need You" hit #9 on the Billboard singles chart and #7 on the AC chart.[2] Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "Sandman" (long rumoured in the US Navy to be about the VQ-2 air squadron formerly based in Rota, Spain)[citation needed] and "Three Roses". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of one million units in the US.
Dewey Bunnell – lead and backing vocals, 6-string acoustic guitar (except on "Here" and "Never Found the Time") Gerry Beckley – bass (except on "Three Roses" and "A Horse with No Name"), 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "Sandman", "I Need You" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar and chimes on "Clarice", piano on "I Need You" and "Clarice" Dan Peek – 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "A Horse with No Name", "I Need You", "Clarice" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar (on "Sandman", "Donkey Jaw" and "I Need You"), piano on "Never Found the Time", bass on "A Horse with No Name" and "Three Roses" Ray Cooper – percussion Dave Atwood – drums on "Sandman", "Here", "I Need You" and "Donkey Jaw" Kim Haworth – drums on "A Horse with No Name" David Lindley – electric guitar on "Children", steel guitar on "Rainy Day" Ian Samwell – producer Jeff Dexter – executive producer Ken Scott – engineering Nigel Waymouth – cover photos and design Flash Fox – logo and graphics