Music Blurbs Vol. 16

America
Their name notwithstanding, tuneful and breezy folk rockers America got their start in London. Founding duo and mainstays Dewey Bunnell (born in Texas) and Yorkshire-born Gerry Beckley formed the group in 1970, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1972. Buoyed by the singles “I Need You” and “A Horse With No Name,” That record soared to the No. 1 spot on the chart in the U.S., doing nearly as well (No. 14) in the UK. The group then began its somewhat idiosyncratic practice of naming all of its albums with words starting with the letter H, an approach they maintained through 1977’s Harbor. America scored nine Top 40 singles between ‘72 and 1976; their laid-back and melodic sound exemplifies the California vibe with songs like “Lonely People,” “Tin Man,” “Sister Golden Hair” and others. The group released its most recent studio album, the semi-archival Lost & Found in 2015; since that time America has continued primarily as a live act. Beckley retired from touring in 2024, but Bunnell has continued touring with a lineup that includes musicians who have been with the band for decades.

Gary Numan
When Gary Numan worked his way into the collective public consciousness in 1979 with his worldwide smash single “Cars,” he presented an icy, detached, robotic and ever dour persona. The real Gary Numan is nothing at all like that image: he’s funny, animated and disarmingly candid. But his music emphasizes the rougher and edgier components of his persona. Though “Cars” (from his third album, The Pleasure Principle) would represent his commercial peak, Numan would go on to record and release a highly regarded string of albums. His music touches upon many styles: industrial, electronica, metal, goth, new wave and more. After years spent below the radar of mass pop culture, in 2017 Numan roared back with arguably the best work of his career. The songs on Savage: Songs from a Broken World are set against the bleak backdrop of a dystopian, apocalyptic world. Savage soared to the #2 spot on the UK album charts, and fared moderately well on the U.S. charts. Numan’s most recent release, 2021’s Intruder also received positive notices for its ambitious conceptual nature.

Morrissey
Morrissey is an important and deeply creative artist. He’s also a constant source of frustration to his fans. Born Steven Patrick Morrisey, the singer-songwriter came to fame as the front man of The Smiths, heroes of the British alternative rock movement of the 1980s and beyond. While the band released only four albums during its run, all four made it to the No. 1 or 2 spot on UK charts. The band’s commercial success in the U.S. was more measured, but the group has long since taken its place as a major force in alternative rock. After the Smiths split, Morrissey went on to a solo career centered upon themes common to his music – melancholy, despair, dark humor, isolation and the like. He has been quite prolific, releasing more than a dozen studio albums (with more on the way). All have top-tenned in his native UK, and nearly every one has charted on the Billboard 200 in the States. Still, Morrissey has earned a notorious reputation for canceling concerts (more than 380 to date).

Judas Priest / Alice Cooper
Heroes of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Judas Priest roared out of Birmingham, England in 1969. Fronted by powerful vocalist Rob Halford, the band has long been a fan- and critics’-favorite. Starting with the band’s third album, 1977’s Sin After Sin, every single Judas Priest album for the next 13 years – a ten-album run – went Gold (500,000 units sold) in the U.S. Two of those went Platinum (1,000,000 sold), and one, 1984’s Defenders of the Faith, went Double Platinum. Each of those releases fared well on the album charts in other countries as well. Known to the world as Alice Cooper, Detroit-born singer Vincent Furnier established himself as the king of shock rock; his high-energy rock gains the visual spectacle of his wild live show, complete with mock-beheading and other lurid (yet highly entertaining) theatrics. Cooper is a five-time Grammy Award nominee, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2025, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper have teamed up for a double-bill concert tour.