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America

America is a British-American rock band formed in London in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live.

Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for their close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.

The band came together shortly after the members' graduation from high school, and a record deal with Warner Bros. Records followed. Their debut 1971 album, America, included the transatlantic hits "A Horse with No Name" and "I Need You"; Homecoming (1972) included the single "Ventura Highway"; and Hat Trick (1973), a modest success on the charts which fared poorly in sales, included one minor hit song "Muskrat Love". 1974's Holiday featured the hits "Tin Man" and "Lonely People"; and 1975's Hearts generated the number one single "Sister Golden Hair" alongside "Daisy Jane." History: America's Greatest Hits, a compilation of hit singles, was released the same year and was certified multi-platinum in the United States and Australia. Peek left the group in 1977, and their commercial fortunes declined, despite a brief return to the top in 1982 with the single "You Can Do Magic".

The group continues to record material and tour with regularity. Their 2007 album Here & Now was a collaboration with a new generation of musicians who credited the band as an influence. America won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Group at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards in 1973. The group has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Source: Wikipedia

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Live Review

America At The Paramount

Read "America At The Paramount" reviewed by Mike Perciaccante


America The Paramount The 50th Anniversary Tour Huntington, NY February 8, 2019 America was formed in Britain in 1970 when, shortly after graduating high school, Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley (each the son of U.S. Air Force personnel in London) began to play together. A recording contract soon followed. The band achieved almost instant popularity and produced a folk-rock sound that received significant airplay on many rock radio stations. ...

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Video / DVD

Backgrounder: Quincy Jones - Americans in Paris

Backgrounder: Quincy Jones - Americans in Paris

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In 1957, Quincy Jones moved to Paris to study composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. In his spare time, the producer, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor became music director at Barclay, a French record company owned by Eddie Barclay, a composer-arranger and contractor. Barclay also was the licensee for Mercury in France. Jones's first album for the label was Et Voila!, which was released on United Artists in the U.S. as Americans in Paris. In addition to ...

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Performance / Tour

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With A Free Concert Featuring The Music Of Two Iconic American Singers: Chris Connor And Mahalia Jackson

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With A Free Concert Featuring The Music Of Two Iconic American Singers: Chris Connor And Mahalia Jackson

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Musical Arts Department pays tribute to two of the most iconic and creative American singers of the 20th century in Night and Day: The Music of Chris Connor and Mahalia Jackson on Wednesday, February 14, 7:30 p.m. at Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Avenue, Boston. The program is curated by faculty members Hankus Netsky and Ran Blake. Admission is free, but tickets are required. For information visit https://necmusic.edu. The title of this Valentine’s Day concert, Night and ...

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Performance / Tour

Dutch Trumpet Sensation Eric Vloeimans And American Accordion Master Will Holshouser Bring Their Expressive And Playful Music To Eight Us Cities And Towns October 13-22, 2023

Dutch Trumpet Sensation Eric Vloeimans And American Accordion Master Will Holshouser Bring Their Expressive And Playful Music To Eight Us Cities And Towns October 13-22, 2023

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

The adventurous duo featuring Dutch trumpet sensation Eric Vloeimans and American accordionist Will Holshouser bring their expressive writing and playful, virtuosic improvising to eight US cities and towns, October 13-22, 2023. Their evocative original compositions bring together their omnivorous range of influences from jazz, classical and folk music: rich harmonies, catchy melodies and energetic improvising, spanning the range from deeply emotional to fun. Together, these two virtuoso musicians use the intimacy of the duo setting to full effect, taking listeners ...

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Music Industry

Acclaimed Canadian Jazz Drummer Samuel Bolduc Teams Up With Grammy Nominated American Saxophonist Stacy Dillard

Acclaimed Canadian Jazz Drummer Samuel Bolduc Teams Up With Grammy Nominated American Saxophonist Stacy Dillard

Source: All About Jazz

Grammy-nominated saxophonist Stacy Dillard is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with an acclaimed Canadian drummer, composer, and music director Samuel Bolduc. Discovered by Wynton Marsalis and acclaimed by The New York Times, Dillard, 46, who was nominated for the Grammy Award in 2023, is a perfect example of the fusing of tradition and innovation. A drumming prodigy Bolduc, 25, who has dominated Canadian music scene for a decade since leading his own band Disconnected Blind to the national Emergenza ...

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Performance / Tour

Legendary Trumpeter/Composer Wadada Leo Smith To Premiere His Monumental New Work, America Transformed, At Brooklyn College From Sept. 8–11

Legendary Trumpeter/Composer Wadada Leo Smith To Premiere His Monumental New Work, America Transformed, At Brooklyn College From Sept. 8–11

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

At 81 years of age, Wadada Leo Smith is deep in the midst of the most creative and prolific period of an already formidable career. On the heels of a yearlong 80th birthday celebration that featured a number of dazzling performances along with several large-scale releases, the visionary composer and trumpeter will premiere his most monumental work to date. From September 8 to 11 at Brooklyn College’s Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts, Smith will present the ...

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Recording

Alto Saxophonist-composer Bobby Zankel Shines A Brilliant Light On American, Philadelphia History With 'A Change Of Destiny,' Due September 22 From Mahakala Records

Alto Saxophonist-composer Bobby Zankel Shines A Brilliant Light On American, Philadelphia History With 'A Change Of Destiny,' Due September 22 From Mahakala Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Philadelphia alto saxophonist and composer Bobby Zankel explores a darker side of his longtime city’s history with A Change of Destiny, set for a September 22 release on Mahakala Records. The album is a distillation of music that Zankel wrote for a dance piece, The Spirits Break to Freedom, in the 2010s, and was recorded with Zankel’s Wonderful Sound 8 (a byproduct of his Warriors of the Wonderful Sound Big Band), featuring Philadelphia jazz greats drummer Pheeroan AkLaff, trombonist Robin ...

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Performance / Tour

Guitar Legend Greg Howe To Tour North America Summer 2023 With Stu Hamm, Joel Taylor And Ernest Tibbs!

Guitar Legend Greg Howe To Tour North America Summer 2023 With Stu Hamm, Joel Taylor And Ernest Tibbs!

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Guitar legend Greg Howe will be kicking off his 2023 North American Tour “Lost and Found” this summer with iconic bassist Stuart Hamm and drummer Joel Taylor! Howe has developed a solid reputation as a technical innovator, particularly for his “hammer-on from nowhere” technique, legato runs, unusual time signatures, and linear tapping approach. His self-titled debut album Greg Howe is ranked tenth best shred album of all time by Guitar World Magazine. In addition to being part of the 2018 ...

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Event

Harlem School Of The Arts In Collaboration With Jazz Power Initiative Launch A Celebration Of Jazz Appreciation Month Honoring America’s Original Art Form

Harlem School Of The Arts In Collaboration With Jazz Power Initiative Launch A Celebration Of Jazz Appreciation Month Honoring America’s Original Art Form

Source: SM Communication Solutions

Harlem School of the Arts in Collaboration With Jazz Power Initiative Launch a Celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month Honoring—America’s Original Art Form Laguardia High School and Harlem Samba Join in an Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam With Legends and Future Jazz Leaders The renowned, 59-year-old Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) will be the site of a collaborative celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month in April, when the organization welcomes a new partnership with Jazz Power Initiative (JPI), an ...

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Recording

Guitarist/Composer Grace McNally Debut Release 'Full Circle' - Africa-South America-Gullah-Charleston, SC

Guitarist/Composer Grace McNally Debut Release 'Full Circle' - Africa-South America-Gullah-Charleston, SC

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Full Circle is my debut album which explores the musical continuities between the American Southeast, Central America, West Africa and Northeast Brazil. It is a musical memoir featuring musical traditions that have impacted my journey and perspective as a musician. It is a love letter to Charleston, South Carolina and to all the places that I lived in and traveled to in my young adulthood. Places that have shaped me into the woman and musician that I am today. Places ...

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Performance / Tour

We'll Meet Again—American Jazz Standards with Jaimee Paul and Leif Shires at John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts on February 4, 2023

We'll Meet Again—American Jazz Standards with Jaimee Paul and Leif Shires at John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts on February 4, 2023

Source: Maura Dunno

Join the Pan American Symphony Orchestra for an evening of American jazz nostalgia with Nashville sensation, Jaimee Paul, singing favorites of the 1940’s such as the wartime hit, “We'll Meet Again." The performance will also feature selections from a swinging orchestral work, the “Zodiac Suite," by Mary Lou Williams, the talented, prolific African-American jazz composer, pianist, and arranger for Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and others. Considered a musician's musician, Williams was highly regarded for her swing-era music and ...

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