Gerry Beckley.
Gerry Beckley, the co-founder of the popular rock group America, is proof that it's not too late to have a second act in life. In 1995, having been with his band – best known for such radio hits as “A Horse With No Name,” “I Need You,” “Sister Golden Hair” and “You Can Do Magic”— for about 25 years at the time, Beckley finally released his debut solo album Van Go Gan. Since then, he has put out several more records on his own in addition to recording and touring with his musical partner Dewey Bunnell as America.
“My joke is we don't like to rush these things,” Beckley says about his belated solo career. “Now I’ve got 20-30 new things that I'm working on. I still enjoy it and I love to create. It's a pleasure.”
Beckley's solo material since the 1990s has now been collected for a new compilation Keeping the Light On via Blue Elan Records, which had previously put out his last two albums Carousel and Five Mile Road. “ It gave us the chance to extend the relationship with [label cofounder] Kirk [Pasich] and the people at Blue Elan. It was a no-brainer.
“There was a lot to pick from,” he continues. “I was the final decider in chief, but I did listen to ears that I trust and try to put together what we thought was the best collection.”
Whether they consist of up-tempo rockers or sublime ballads, the 20-track collection (due out this Friday) has all the sonic hallmarks of Beckley's previous work in America: his distinct singing voice, the romantic and introspective lyrics, and the catchy melodies. “I like to think there's something commercial about what I'm trying to build, but there is always a little bit of a bittersweet angle. 'Tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed' [from “Sister Golden Hair”]– you wouldn't think of it as an opening line for a big hit record, but that's kind of been my area. Especially when you do something like this that really looks across maybe 20-30 years of material, you're going to find some threads. Hopefully there is an arc of some sort.”
The compilation is also graced by a couple of never-before-released tracks. The first single released off of Keeping the Light On, “Self Image,” was previously cut a few years ago. “Much as I kind of get the whole '80s vibe, it was astoundingly dated when I listened to it,” the musician explains. “And so we went in and basically rebuilt the whole track. It's a song that found new life and I'm happy to have it included.”
“(I’m Your) Heart Slave” was another songs from the archives that benefitted from the advancement of studio technology. “It started to give me access to a lot of different instruments that I wouldn't normally have but digitally,” Beckley says. “I was really trying to build a track that didn't use the regular ingredients—there wasn't just drums, two guitars, bass. It came off very well. It had an interesting outro that is sitars and bagpipes, for example. It gave me a chance to work with a slightly different palette of sounds.”
Beckley also revisited the song “Norman,” written about the industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. It’s considered a longtime unreleased America fan favorite going back to the 1970s. The group had performed the song live during a summer tour but it never appeared on any of the studio albums produced by George Martin during that decade. As Beckley recalls: “We played it and it went down well, and everybody was waiting for the recording. When it came time to select the songs [for an album], George just thought: ‘I think you got better material.’ You didn't want to disagree with George, but we also kind of played it out—we've been doing it for a year. It never got released, which is why it's considered an unreleased America track.”
Also included on Keeping the Light On is “Watching the Time,” from 2000's Like a Brother, Beckley's collaborative album with Chicago's Robert Lamm and the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson, who died two years before its release. All three musicians had known each other for years, and their respective bands had toured together at some point. “Watching the Time,” a Beckley composition, first appeared on Lamm’s 1996 solo record In My Head.
“Robert would stay up to date on what I've been writing,” Beckley recalls. He said he would love to do “Watching the Time”: 'Would you come in and sing, maybe we can get Carl in there too and the three of us sing?' So we did record it for Robert's album. We had a lot of fun and we sang backup on a different version of this song. That led to: 'Oh, we ought to do more of this.' We didn't actually realize the extent of what we were asking of ourselves, because it did take another six years to bring that project together.
“The unfortunate tragic finale was Carl was diagnosed with cancer, and we were almost done with the album anyway. We shelved it and said, 'Let's let Carl get better.' Of course within a year he was gone—a bittersweet end. The album was recorded in the best of health, best of mind, and the best of love. We had a great time but it did have this tragic final chapter. I'm glad that Kirk wanted to include it because it gives me a chance to tell that story. Carl was one of my closest friends. Robert and I are still in touch all the time.”
The release of Keeping the Light On comes as America are looking to resume touring following the pandemic, which sidelined the duo's 50th anniversary tour last year (normally, they perform about 100 shows annually). Upon reflection of the band's remarkable milestone, Beckley says: “It's a wonderful number. You hear people use large numbers: ‘Oh, my dad worked at the factory for 20 years.’ So there are numbers that are much smaller than 50 that are lauded as being a hell of a long time.
“The secret to a great partnership is a great partner, and there's nobody better than my partner Dewey. He's been a dream to work with over these years. And the joke is now we're gearing up for the next 50.”
UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01: TOP OF THE POPS Photo of AMERICA, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell & Dan ... [+]
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of America's self-titled album, containing the beloved classics “I Need You,” “A Horse With No Name” and “Sandman” and featuring the original lineup by Beckley, Bunnell and the late Dan Peek. The record’s success kicked off a streak of hit albums and singles for America during the 1970s.
“When you're young and you don't know any different, you kind of hope for all of those things,” says Beckley of the band’s first record. “In our case, it all happened. To be honest, as thrilled as we were, we were kind of thinking: 'Yeah, that's how you do it.' And it was everybody around us that was going ‘Holy...look what’s happened.’ It wasn’t even scheduled for release in the States. Because it was a success in the U.K., it came out it in the States, and then it blew up around the world. It was a lovely start. We held on tight—it was like a rocket ship for 10 years. And when the smoke cleared, we were still here. We survived it, so we're here to tell that tale.”
At the present moment, Beckley is in Australia, where he and his wife have a home in addition to their residence in California. As he is awaiting for things to get back to normal touring-wise, Beckley continues to work on new music. “The good news is that you can make a studio out of a laptop and some really great compact equipment. And when I got here [in Australia], I built a studio. I've been writing and recording quite a bit. It's been quite productive, that's for sure.”
