Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, founding members of the legendary rock band America, discussed their differences and influences in their music life in the latest episode of “The Big Interview” on AXS TV.
The duo discussed the tremendous impact of The Beatles’ groundbreaking performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and how it shaped them as aspiring musicians.
“The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was a turning point for everybody in our generation,” Beckley said.
“It just redefined who I was as a kid. All of a sudden, it was no longer surf bands. We’re gonna grow our hair and we’re gonna sing,” he told Dan Rather.
Bunnell recalled the eventful years from 1963 to 1964, saying, “With the assassination [of JFK], with Ali beating Liston, and with The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, that’s like a massive something happened right there.”
Discussing their differing songwriting styles, Bunnell said, “Gerry tends to write ‘indoor songs’, we say—love songs, a lot more introspective. And I do ‘outdoor songs’… So, there’s one difference.”
“The other one is if it has two chords, it’s Dewey’s song. If it has 102 chords, it’s mine,” Beckley added.
Source: RTT News
