Dewey Bunnell

Dewey Bunnell
Bunnell on Dutch television in 1972
Background information
Birth name	Lee Martin Bunnell
Born	(1952-01-19) 19 January 1952 (age 65) Harrogate, England
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1969-present
Associated acts	America

Lee Martin "Dewey" Bunnell (born 19 January 1952) is a British-American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a member of the folk rock band America.

Bunnell was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, to an American serviceman, stationed at the United States Air Force base at RAF South Ruislip, and his English wife. As a young musician, Bunnell was inspired by The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

While attending London Central High School in England he met Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek. After an initial attempt at forming a band in the late 1960s, the trio formed America in 1969 and released their first album in 1971.

As with the other members, Bunnell wrote, sang and played guitar. His best-known compositions include "A Horse with No Name", "Ventura Highway", and "Tin Man". Bunnell has explained that "A Horse with No Name" was "a metaphor for a vehicle to get away from life's confusion into a quiet, peaceful place", while "Sandman" was inspired by his casual talks with returning Vietnam veterans. Afraid that they might be attacked and killed in their sleep, many of them chose to stay awake as long as possible, either naturally or with pharmaceuticals. Thus, they were "running from the Sandman."

In 1973 he moved to Marin County, California, with his then-wife, Vivien. They divorced in 1999 and he married Penny in 2002. The two split their time between homes in Palos Verdes and northern Wisconsin, where Penny is from.

Bunnell is still a member of America, along with founding member Gerry Beckley. America has made more than 20 albums of original material, along with a number of hits compilations, between the 1960s and the present. America's album Back Pages was released on 26 July 2011. The group was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2012. America's most recent album, Lost & Found, was officially released May 5, 2015, containing unreleased tracks recorded between 2002 and 2010.