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 (age 64) 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.

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.

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 signed 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 80s 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".