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America The Band
Guitar Lessons On The Acoustic
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Below is a bit of history and background on America the band aa well as a free tutorial on Ventura Highway
and some demo guitar lessons with the ability to purchase the full instructional tutorials.
Today's Freebie
"That Just About Does It" - by Vern Gosden
NEW HERE? - Kirby's Free Rhythm Training And Lesson Packages.
Various Free Rhythm Lessons Here
America Guitar Lessons Available On This Page
1. Horse With No Name | 2. Sister Golden Hair | 3. Tin Man
4. Ventura Highway
These 3 guys, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek formed the rock band America and began to see success as the trio America in 1972. They were successful enough to attract The Beatles producer George Martin for a 7 year partnership.
The band's first album was more acoustic sounding than future releases. They had moved from London to LA and decided to produce their 2nd album with a more electric rock sound. You can see the America Discography here.
1. Horse With No Name
As song that took alot of abuse when it was first released in 1972 becuase it sounded too much like Neil Young and some of the lines were interepreted to make ref to drug useage. In spite of that, the song went to #1 for the group.
The chords Im using in this song are just two chords and they are Em and a Gbm with two open bottom strings.
After viewing video, feel free to leave a comment
or click "Share" below video for social media buttons!
Purchase Full Tutorial Below (8:07)
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2. Sister Golden Hair
A song that was inspired by the three blonde mothers of the members of the group and Jackson Browne, Gery Beckley wrote this song which became America's second #1, after Horse With No Name hit #1 three years earlier.
The chords I use to play this are E, Abm, A, Gbm, Dbm and B.
After viewing video, feel free to leave a comment
or click "Share" below video for social media buttons!
Purchase Full Tutorial Below (7:48)
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3. Tin Man
Since Dewey Bunnell always loved The Wizard Of Oz, I guess it's not surprise he would write a song about the movie someday. In 1974, Tin Man peraked at #4 on the pop charts but did hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts.
How I play this is to start on C and D, then into a Bm and a Gmaj7. I also play an Em on the bottom four strings on the 7th as well as a D7.
After viewing video, feel free to leave a comment
or click "Share" below video for social media buttons!
Purchase Full Tutorial Below (5:38)
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4. Ventura Highway
This song was inspired by a flat tire and Dewey Bunnells re-collection of clouds in the sky looking like animals as a young boy. The song hails from America's 2nd album in 1972 called Homecoming. The song peaked at #8 on the American pop charts that year.
Dmaj7, G, Em, Gbm with two bottom open strings.
After viewing video, feel free to leave a comment
or click "Share" below video for social media buttons!
Purchase Full Tutorial Below (9:49)
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The Band America As A Duo
The America rock group began a strange trend I guess because of some sort of superstition. They began naming their albums after the letter "H".
In 1977, Dan Peek saw an opportunity after becoming born again and finding a market in the
Christian Rock field, so he left America at that time.
The new duo never saw any chart success until 1982 with the release of the single "You Can Do Magic",
which climbed to #8. The band logo was created by the late comedian Phil Hartman, who was a graphic
artist at the time.
The duo of Brunell and Beckley still tours after nearly 40 years in the business. Sadly, a reunion
with Dan Peek never transpired, and on July 24th 2011, Dan Peek passed away at age 60 from a heart
condition known as fibrinous pericarditis.
You can read more about America The Band from the Wikipedia here.
America Official Website
from this America The Band page.
