July 14, 2023 —– Chart #204
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Today’s chart is a song we have all heard many times and surely all of us have sung along. America’s hit song “A Horse With No Name” is a classic song by this popular group. “A Horse with No Name” was written by Dewey Bunnell. It was the band’s first and most successful single, released in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States, that topped the charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
America’s self-titled debut album was released initially in Europe, without “A Horse with No Name”, and achieved only moderate success. Originally called “Desert Song”, “Horse” was written while the band was staying at the home of studio musician Arthur Brown, near Puddletown, Dorset, England. The first two demos were recorded there by Jeff Dexter and Dennis Elliott, which were intended to capture the sensation of the hot, dry desert that had been depicted in a Salvador Dalí painting, and in a picture by M. C. Escher which featured a horse. Writer Dewey Bunnell also says he remembered his childhood travels through the Arizona and New Mexico desert when his family lived at Vandenberg Air Force Base. 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”.
Despite the song being banned by some U.S. radio stations because of supposed drug references to heroin use (“horse” is a common slang term for heroin), the song ascended to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and the album quickly reached platinum status. The song charted earlier in Ireland (reaching number 4), the Netherlands (reaching number 11) and the UK (reaching number 3, the band’s only Top 40 hit in the country) than it did in the United States.
The song’s resemblance to some of Neil Young’s work aroused some controversy. For example, in its review of “A Horse with No Name” Cash Box described America as “CSN&Y soundalikes.” “I know that virtually everyone, on first hearing, assumed it was Neil”, Bunnell said. “I never fully shied away from the fact that I was inspired by him. I think it’s in the structure of the song as much as in the tone of his voice. It did hurt a little, because we got some pretty bad backlash. I’ve always attributed it more to people protecting their own heroes more than attacking me.” By coincidence, it was “A Horse with No Name” that replaced Young’s “Heart of Gold” at the number 1 spot on the U.S. pop chart.
Well all I can say is that I liked the song when it was released and I still like it today. I have never seen America as “CSN&Y soundalikes” (but if anyone ever wants to accuse me of sounding like CSN&Y, I will not shy away either). Grab your guitar, strum this song and let your mind drift back to the early 70’s. Its good for the soul.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw