He added that there was some thought about asking Peek to join him and Beckley when America receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year to mark the group’s career achievements as well as the 40th anniversary of the band winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. We’ll always acknowledge Dan’s contribution, and those years that we were together as America were really special times.” “We still do ‘Lonely People’ and ‘Don’t Cross the River’ every night on stage. “Dan wrote some songs, Dan played lead guitar and Dan sang the high harmonies - so at the end of the day his contributions have never been questions,” Bunnell explains. Shortly before Peek’s death, Bunnell told that Peek’s departure from the band was “an organic split” and that he and Beckley felt no acrimony towards their former band mate. My sincere condolences go out to Catherine and the entire Peek family. Dan & his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all. Video: Dan Peek’s Biggest Hit With America, “Lonely People”īeckley’s note reads, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of Dan’s passing. May Dan rest in peace, and his memory be cherished forever.” My sincere condolences go out to his wife, Catherine, and the entire Peek family. He goes on to say that, “Although we eventually went our separate ways, his contributions to the music of America have always been present and will last forever. Dan was an equal and integral part of that early history, and I have never forgotten the good times we spent making that music and learning about life together.” We created lasting music together and experienced a life that we could never have imagined. It was a joyous time for the three of us, full of excitement and laughter. Dan, along with Gerry (Beckley) & myself, formed the band America as teenagers after being great friends in high school during the late 60’s. Bunnell writes that, “I am so sorry to learn of Dan’s passings. His funeral will be Monday at the Presbyterian Church in Farmington.Bunnell and Gerry Beckley have both paid tribute to him with notes on the duo’s own web site. He also operated a website and wrote a memoir, "An American Band: The America Story." Just last month he signed copies of the book at a Christian bookstore in Farmington. Milton Peek said his son continued to write songs and record in the studio in his Farmington home until his death. He moved to Farmington, an area where his father was once stationed, that same year. Beckley and Bunnell sang harmonies on the song, "Love Was Just Another Word." It marked the last time the three recorded together, according to Billboard, though they occasionally reunited on stage.Ī fire in 1978 burned Peek's home and belongings in California. 1 on the Contemporary Christian Music chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award. His first solo album in 1979, "All Things Are Possible," reached No. He left America in 1977 and turned to Contemporary Christian music. "He was a Christian and he just got tired of the rat race," his father said. In the late 1970s, Peek became disenchanted with the travel and lifestyle. "The three of them were Air Force brats," Milton Peek said. He met Bunnell and Beckley in the late 1960s. His father was in the Air Force and the family frequently moved. Man serving life sentence for child sexual abuse escapes Texas prison He also had a home in the Cayman Islands. Peek had lived in Farmington since 1978, soon after he left the band. "Dan & his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all," Beckley wrote on the group's website. Peek played lead guitar on many of the songs, and wrote some of them, including the 1974 hit "Lonely People." 1 hit "Horse With No Name." Other hits followed: "Tin Man," ''Sister Golden Hair," and "Daisy Jane," among them. The group's first album in 1971 included the No. "We created lasting music together and experienced a life that we could never have imagined." "It was a joyous time for the three of us, full of excitement and laughter," Bunnell wrote on the band's website after learning of Peek's death. All told, America had three platinum and three gold albums, along with eight Top 40 hits, from 1971 through 1975. After signing a record contract, America was an almost instant sensation with songs featuring tight harmonies over catchy tunes. Air Force, had met the two other members of America - Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley - while attending high school in London. Dan Peek suffered from arthritis, but it wasn't known if that was a contributing factor. The cause of death was not known, and an autopsy was planned. Peek's wife, Catherine, found him dead Sunday in bed in his home in Farmington, Mo., about 60 miles southwest of St. Dan Peek, a founding member of the popular 1970s band America and singer of high harmonies on hits that included "A Horse With No Name" and "Ventura Highway," has died, his father said Tuesday.
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