Garage Sale Vinyl: America
Hearts / Warner Bros. / March 1975
by Christopher Long
“Nice nail polish, dude.” I’d been made fun of for my fashion sense for so many years, I couldn’t miss the sarcasm behind his “compliment.” But this guy wasn’t some redneck trying to start trouble. This was one of my all-time music heroes, Dewey Bunnell, co-founding singer-songwriter and guitarist for one of my all-time favorite bands, America. And we weren’t interacting from across a crowded, clattering, smoke-filled beer joint. We were face-to-face in an otherwise empty, quiet catering room. Truth be told, he could have punched me in the face and I wouldn’t have been offended. Hence, I just let his remark whiz past me.
The 12-year-old me could never have imagined winding up backstage at an America concert, at age 50-something. But, there I was. I’d been invited to tag along to the Florida concert by one of my longtime friends from the local music scene who also had been longtime friends with America. My expectations were realistically low. Based on my first-hand experiences working as a personal assistant for other major music artists on national concert tours, I knew darn well that the “talent” actually doesn’t want anybody hanging out in their backstage or onstage workspace. As a result, I would have preferred to go straight to our seats. However, my buddy assured me that it would be “totally cool” if we went back and said “Hi” to the band members before the show.
This record is MY “Abbey Road,” I confessed to Bunnell, as I reached into my purse and pulled out a fresh black Sharpie, along with my CD copy of his band’s chart-busting 1975 album, Hearts. As it turned out, my buddy was right, the America guys were, “totally cool.” Bunnell received my praise with genuine humility. He signed my CD insert graciously and then took it personally down the hall to the dressing room and had it signed by his decades-long music partner, singer-songwriter and guitarist, Gerry Beckley. Cool A.F. to be sure.
• •
Although I’m currently exploring new frontiers in southwest Oklahoma, until last summer, I’d spent several decades knocking around on Florida’s east coast. Several months following my relocation, one of my most rewarding vinyl hot spots remains the Renninger’s Flea and Farmer’s Market in Melbourne, Florida. One vendor in particular boasts a bounty of reasonably-priced, factory-sealed, shiny new vinyl releases. However, at the other end of his concession area is a small, nondescript “junk” bin. And that’s where I always find the “good” stuff, like that time I scored a slightly ravaged, yet playable, original pressing of The Beatles Let it Be — for a buck. It’s also where I nabbed a clean and quiet replacement vinyl copy of Hearts — for just $3.
Birthed in the UK in 1970 and raised henceforth in the US, the American combo, America combined a cozy folk factor with an appealing pop sensibility, accented by a subtle rock edge. Co-founding singer / guitarists Bunnell, Beckley, and Dan Peek possessed world-class chops and delivered skin-tight vocals, and their studio production was superb. However, it could be said that the band’s greatest strength was the members’ masterful song crafting.
A devout 12-year-old disciple at the First United Church of Casey Kasem, I’d become a faithful America fan by late 1974, as “A Horse with No Name,” “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Tin Man,” and “Lonely People” all had been huge Top Ten radio hits. The band also had scored three Billboard Top Ten LPs. However, in the spring of ‘75, it was the soon-to-be Top Ten album, Hearts, that clobbered me completely. Given the songwriting caliber, musicianship, and that both records were overseen by legendary Beatles producer, George Martin, my aforementioned Abbey Road / Hearts comparison isn’t exactly a wacky stretch. And I’ll stand by it.
It’s a term that’s become so overused, that it sometimes makes me wanna stab myself in the eye with a salad fork when I see it in print or hear it on a podcast or wherever, but in this case Hearts has proven to be truly “timeless.” In my personal world, Hearts has lived several lives. It’s the album that brought me solace when I was uprooted from my childhood home in Springfield, Missouri and dragged to Florida during the summer of ‘75. It also provided the soundtrack to my conflicted relationship with “her” in 2000. It also became one of my go-to records during my recent relocation to Oklahoma. In fact, America has just released a slew of new Hearts-related merch to commemorate the album’s 50th anniversary.
Beckley’s warm and moving “Daisy Jane” remains a beautiful heartacher — a Top 20 classic that serves as a vivid audio snapshot of the summer of ‘75. Another romance-fueled epic, Beckley’s “Sister Golden Hair” went straight to #1 and continues to be embraced as one of the band’s best-loved hits. Although the third single, “Woman Tonight,” just missed Kasey’s Countdown, the island-flavored feel-good also remains a fan favorite.
Aside from the hits, Hearts owned a bunch of other bangers, including the guitar-driven pop-rock earworm “Half a Man.” Laced with soaring strings, “Midnight” still feels like a summer night; windows open, curtains dancing in the warm breeze, while “Tomorrow” suggested a longing for that love and a yearning for home. But Hearts didn’t merely project love and rainbows, as “The Story of a Teenager” was decidedly darker, especially in contrast to the sunshine storm of “Sister Golden Hair.”
In sum, Hearts IS a “timeless” record — a splendid, magical piece of work. Even after 50 years, it remains fresh and vital. And it has as much to say now as it did when I snatched up my original vinyl copy down at Montgomery Wards back in ‘75.
(5/5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hearts Track List
SIDE A
1. Daisy Jane (G. Beckley) – 3:07
2. Half a Man (D. Peek) 3:33
3. Midnight (D. Bunnell, G. Beckley) – 2:41
4. Bell Tree (G. Beckley) – 2:32
5. Old Virginia (D. Peek, C. Peek) – 3:28
6. People in the Valley (D. Bunnell) – 2:43
SIDE B
1. Company (D. Bunnell) – 3:23
2. Woman Tonight (D. Peek) – 2:19
3. The Story of a Teenager (D. Peek, G. Beckley) – 3:19
4. Sister Golden Hair (G. Beckley) – 3:16
5. Tomorrow (D. Peek) – 2:48
6. Seasons (D. Bunnell) – 3:00
