America's Dan Peek

As a teen one of my favorite groups was America. I never really was a "groupie" so to speak. I didn't know the names of the band members or anything about them, where they came from, if they were married, where they grew up, etc. I didn't really care about that. I always listened to America because I liked their music. They actually had lovely melodic songs with harmony, not your usual screaming, head-banging music of the time. The group America was popular in the sixties and early seventies. One of their more popular songs was Horse With No Name.

I used to know every word and sing right along.

 " On the first part of the journey, I was looking at all of life. There were plants and birds and rocks and things,  . . . . I've been through the desert on a horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert you can't remember your name, for there ain't no one for to give you no pain. La la la la la la la la la la la la"

Anyway, time marched on and America faded away as an echo on an amplifier. Every once in a while I would hear one of their songs on an "oldies" radio station and I think I even have them on a CD from an oldies collection. I hadn't really thought of them until today when I was driving to yoga. Since about 1993 or so I have only listened to Christian radio so I was intrigued when I heard them talking about America.

Well, come to find out the lead singer for America, Dan Peek, left the band and became a born again Christian in 1977 and left the life of  rock and roll to become a Christian recording artist. He even re-recorded one of their other hits Lonely People as a Christian song.

Are you wondering "Why is she blogging about this? Well, other than I think it's very admirable that he gave up the life of rock and roll to be a Christ follower, he also was found dead in his home Sunday, July 24, 2011. He was 60 years old. No cause of death is known yet, but as Dan said in his song "He's coming to take us home." See you in heaven brother, praise on.