Gerry Beckley

Gerry Beckley

Beckley at a ceremony for America to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2012
Background information
Birth name Gerald Linford Beckley
Born (1952-09-12) September 12, 1952
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Genres Rock, acoustic
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica
Years active 1967–present
Labels Warner Bros., Capitol, Rhino, American Gramaphone, Oxygen, Burgundy
Associated acts America, Carl Wilson
Website www.gerrybeckley.com

Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley (born September 12, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas) is a founding member of the band America.[1]

Beckley was born to an American father and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music band in Virginia. He spent every summer in England and soon discovered 'British invasion' music.

Start of America

In 1967, Beckley's father became the commander at the United States Air Force base at West Ruislip, near London. Gerry attended London Central High School in Bushey, Hertfordshire, where he played in various school bands and met his soon-to-be bandmates, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. Originally, the group played on Friday nights at the local American teen club, mostly doing acoustic covers of Crosby Stills and Nash tunes. The original drummer was a classmate, Dave Atwood.

America got a recording contract with the British division of Warner Bros. Records and found success in 1972 with "A Horse with No Name."

Beckley wrote and sang America's 1972 top ten hit "I Need You" and its 1975 number one hit "Sister Golden Hair" (also number one on Billboard, in 1975) as well as its top 20 followup "Daisy Jane." He also sang their 80's top ten hit "You Can Do Magic."

Beckley continues to write and record music both as a solo artist and with other musicians along with Bunnell. With Bunnell, Beckley continues touring worldwide as "America".

Solo projects

Beckley, Andrew Gold, and Timothy B. Schmidt sang as "Baldwin and the Whiffles", performing "Mr. Sandman", "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane", and "Sh-Boom", in the 1990 John Waters film Cry-Baby.

Beckley has worked with a wide variety of musicians on many projects. One of the most notable is the 2001 recording Like a Brother, performed with Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Robert Lamm of Chicago.

In May 2006, Beckley released another solo album Horizontal Fall.

In March 2007, Beckley appeared as a guest on the Australian musical quiz TV show Spicks and Specks.[2]

On April 14, 2007, Beckley appeared as a special guest at a Ben Kweller show at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. Beckley, Kweller, and the band performed Sister Golden Hair together.

Beckley is also a member of Les Deux Love Orchestra.

Personal life

Beckley is currently married to Kathy Beckley. He has two sons, Matthew and Joe. Matthew is also a musician; he has toured with Katy Perry and has worked with other artists, such as Ke$ha, Britney Spears, and others.[3][4] Joe is an aspiring photographer in the Los Angeles area. Beckley now splits his time between homes in Venice, CA and Sydney, Australia. He has a child from a previous marriage to Eleanor Beckley.

Discography

Sessions (selection)

References

  1. ↑ America, It's a group with no theme, says singer
  2. ↑ Episode Seven Spicks and Specks
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HPEDX_msTU
  4. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/matt-beckley-mn0000114620/credits

External links

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