The Frequent and Familiar Radio Tunes Make ‘America’ Concert Crowd-Pleaser
by Bob Drzewiczewski, Rutland Daily Herald, June 19, 1978
Bless the almighty hit single (45 rpm) record and its frequent play on AM radio waves; it creates concert heroes.
The popular singing group “America,” which played the first concert of the season at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center here Saturday night, is one of the many acts that has benefited from success on the singles chart.
America launched its career in 1972 with the smash, “A Horse With No Name,” a countrified drug epic. The group wisely used the tune, with the introduction, “Let’s Bring Out the Nag Again,” for an encore to appease the cheering crowd, which had resorted to the lit match ritual to bring out the musicians for one final song.
Though the group has never achieved consistent success on the album charts (due mostly to its lack of appeal to FM audiences), it has been a perennial contributor to the singles market during the past six years. America’s music is simple and melodic, with a slight country-rock flavor.
Some America songs have reached the easy-listening market (notably “Sister Golden Hair,” “I Need You” and “Lonely People”). The group has never been known as an innovator, which may explain its commercial success in the singles market.
America’s songs are simple and easy to identify with. This has also helped the group over the years.
The act was formed as a trio in the early 1970s in England. Dan Peek, Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley were original members of the group. Peek left the act a year ago. His departure has resulted in some changes. America’s post-Peek material seems to carry a distinct hard rock flavor, something that was absent in the group’s first five years of existence.
Although the crowd reacted favorably to the new material, it was the group’s commercial material that most pleased the spectators. Songs such as “Muskrat Love,” “Tin Man,” and “Ventura Highway,” all hits on the singles chart, received the most favorable reactions. People are familiar with tunes that are played on AM radio and therefore identify with them more readily.
Throughout the concert, the crowd called out for its individual favorites.
Although various factions demanded different songs, “Sister Golden Hair” was the most frequently requested number. It followed that the tune was the group’s most successful single recording to date.
America, as the trend seems to go, closed its regular set with “Sister Golden Hair.” By then, the crowd was on its feet singing, humming and clapping to the music. At times the crowd could be heard but the music couldn’t.
The group, a perennial favorite at the center, promised to return next year and left after one encore. America gave the crowd what it wanted: familiar songs to enjoy.
Pure Praire League, a six-piece country rock group, was the preceding act. Known primarily for its hit single, “Amie,” the group was well received, though the crowd was unfamiliar with the majority of the act’s music.
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