America: Unnamed Horses & Alligator Lizards Quiz

Answer: They had British moms and American dads.

Actually, Gerry, Dewey, and Dan had quite a bit more in common. All of their fathers were in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in London. They all attended London Central High School at the same time; it was a school which had been established by the U.S. Department of Defense for the children of U.S. servicemen. In 1968 they began performing in a variety of clubs in the London area. Gerry and Dan were born in the U.S., while Dewey was born in England. They called their band "America" because they didn't want people to think they were British musicians trying to sound like Americans.

Answer: A Horse With No Name

Their debut album, released in 1971, was not as successful as they had hoped. It needed a song that would be globally popular. Influenced by pictures by Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher, Dewey wrote "Desert Song", and told about childhood travels through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico when his father was stationed at Vandenburg Air Force Base.

The song quickly became a Number One hit; subsequently, it was added to the debut album which went platinum. Incidentally, many believed the song sounded as if it were written and performed by Neil Young.

When it hit #1 on the pop charts, it replaced Young's "Heart of Gold." The band's second hit off the newly-released album was Gerry's "I Need You".

Answer: Best New Artist

America's second album was released in November of 1972, and had reached gold-record status by December of the same year. The award for Record of the Year went to Joel Dorn and Roberta Flack for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", the Album of the Year was George Harrison's "Concert For Bangladesh", and the Song of the Year was "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

Other nominees for Best New Artist included Harry Chapin, The Eagles, Loggins & Messina, and John Prine.

Answer: Ventura Highway

Dewey wrote this song, and says it is in reference to a time in 1963 when his family was driving down the coastal road from Vandenburg Air Force Base, and their car had a flat tire. He and his brother watched the clouds (shaped like alligator lizards) and saw a sign for Ventura, while their dad fixed the tire.

At a recent concert, a member of the audience asked about the lyrics and Dewey acted shocked that people didn't know that an alligator lizard was a real animal! Of course it's a real animal!

Answer: The Beatles

After the success of their first album, the band decided to relocate from London to California and produce their own albums. Because the band was disappointed in the commercial success of their third album, they decided to work with producer George Martin and recording engineer Geoff Emerick. One of the changes Martin made was to add strings and bass to the group's acoustic sound. Altogether Sir George, who was knighted in 1996, produced five albums for America.

Answer: Lonely People

"Lonely People" was actually written by Dan and his new wife, Catherine, in 1973. The song was written as a response to The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"; Dan said that "I always felt like a melancholy, lonely person. And now [upon getting married] I felt like I'd won." During his time with the band, Dan not only sang lead and backup vocals, played guitars, bass, keyboard, and harmonica, but also wrote songs such as "Don't Cross The River" and "Woman Tonight".

He left the band in 1977, and sadly, passed away in 2011.

Answer: George Harrison

"Sister Golden Hair" was the band's second Number One hit. The title was supposedly chosen because their mothers all had blond hair, however, the song is definitely a message from a man to his girlfriend. While the guitar riff was inspired by George Harrison ("My Sweet Lord)", Gerry said the overall tone (honest and forthcoming) of the song was inspired by Jackson Browne.

Answer: California Dreamin'

The movie, "California Dreaming", was released in 1979. Although the movie was not successful, the band's cover of the song reached No. 56 on the music charts. During this time, the band consisted of Dewey and Gerry; they had ended their contract with Warner Bros. and signed with Capital Records.

The album "Silent Letter" was their first release with Capital and their last album with producer George Martin.

Answer: H

Well, let's see. There is "Homecoming" (1972), "Hat Trick" (1973), "Holiday" (1974), "Hearts" (1975), "History: America's Greatest Hits" (1975-compliation), "Hideaway" (1976), "Harbor" (1977), "Hourglass" (1994), "Horse With No Name" (1995-live), "Human Nature" (1998), "Highway" (2000-compliation), "Holiday Harmony" (2002), "Hear and Now" (2007), and "Hits" (2011).

While no explanation for this habit is given, that fact that it exists is mentioned on several websites. While "Silent Letter" was their first album since their debut (besides "America Live") that didn't begin with an "H", it is said that the reference is to silent letters in the English language, meaning "H".

Answer: It is a collection of some of Dewey and Gerry's favorite cover songs.

The album "Back Pages" is a collection of songs by Dewey and Gerry's favorite songwriters - songs that they "wish they had written". Representing a very eclectic group, the album includes songs by Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Chris Collingwood, and Neil Young, among others. Their rendition of Paul Simon's "America" is currently being used to advertise Small Business Saturday 2014 on national television. Wait until you hear their cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". Awesome!