America (America album)

America is the debut studio album by America, released January 1972. It was initially released without "A Horse with No Name", which was released as a single in Europe in late 1971 and in the US in January 1972. When "A Horse with No Name" became a worldwide hit in early 1972, the album was re-released with that track.

The album went to the top of Billboard's album chart in the United States and stayed there for five weeks. It produced two hit singles, with "A Horse with No Name" which spent three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart in 1972, and "I Need You" hit the ninth position on the Billboard singles chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations, including "Sandman" and "Three Roses". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of one million units in the United States.

Reception
In his AllMusic review, music critic David Cleary called the band's debut album a "folk-pop classic" and concluded, "In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended."

Personnel
Credits are per back cover of 1972 vinyl issue.

America with:
 * Dewey Bunnell – lead and backing vocals, 6-string acoustic guitar (except on "Here" and "Never Found the Time")
 * Gerry Beckley – bass (except on "Three Roses" and "A Horse with No Name"), 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "Sandman", "I Need You" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar and chimes on "Clarice", piano on "I Need You" and "Clarice"
 * Dan Peek – 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars (except on "A Horse with No Name", "I Need You", "Clarice" and "Pigeon Song"), lead and backing vocals (except on "Pigeon Song"), electric guitar (on "Sandman", "Donkey Jaw" and "I Need You"), piano on "Never Found the Time", bass on "A Horse with No Name" and "Three Roses"
 * Ray Cooper – percussion
 * Dave Atwood – drums on "Sandman", "Here", "I Need You" and "Donkey Jaw"
 * Kim Haworth – drums on "A Horse with No Name"
 * David Lindley – electric guitar on "Children", steel guitar on "Rainy Day"

Technical
 * Ian Samwell – producer
 * Jeff Dexter – executive producer
 * Ken Scott – engineering
 * Nigel Waymouth – cover photos and design
 * Flash Fox – logo and graphics