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TOP 1200 CHOICE TRACKS

#596 SISTER GOLDEN HAIR America
After recording their debut album, America decided to produce their own records. The results did not chart well, so the group approached renowned producer George Martin to work on 'Holiday'. That LP featured their first US #1 "A Horse With No Name". Follow-up album 'Hearts' , released in 1975, contained a 2nd American chart topper: "Sister Golden Hair". Martin was back at the helm. The track was penned by 1 of the group's guitarists and vocalists, Gerry Beckley. 
The group continued recording material and charting, their biggest subsequent release being "You Can Do Magic", which made the US Top 10 in 1982. Their last chart appearance was in the following year with "The Border". 
Dan Peek quit the group in 1976, and America persevered as a duo. In 2007, 'Here and Now' was issued. This was an album of new material from the 2 remaining members (Beckley and Dewey Bunnell) and covers of America's old songs by younger artists that had been influenced by the band. 2011 saw a new album with the duo covering songs like Simon & Garfunkel's "America", Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" and Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". Peek passed away that same year. 

This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
To mark the occasion of reaching the halfway mark for this special countdown, a new song will be added on the hour all day today (in place of this week's Mid Week Bonus).