Dan Peek

Daniel Milton Peek
"America" album cover - Dan Peek is on the left
Background information
Born	November 1, 1950(1950-11-01) Panama City, Florida
Died	July 24, 2011(2011-07-24) (aged 60) Farmington, Missouri
Genres	Folk rock, soft rock, country rock, contemporary Christian
Instruments	Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, harmonica
Labels	Warner Bros. (as part of America), Lamb & Lion
Associated acts	America
Website	danpeek.com

Daniel Milton 'Dan' Peek (November 1, 1950 – July 24, 2011)^[1] was a musician best known as a member of the rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. He was also a "pioneer in contemporary Christian music."^[2]

America

Peek contributed lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, and harmonica to their recordings during his tenure in the band. As a member of America, Peek wrote or co-wrote four Top 100 singles: "Don't Cross The River" (#35), "Lonely People" (#5), "Woman Tonight" (#44), and "Today's the Day" (#23), all of which he also sang lead on. "Lonely People" and "Today's the Day" also hit number 1 on the Billboard AC charts.^[3]

During this period Peek was "a spectrum drug abuser, alcoholic, you name it". In 2004 Peek released an autobiography about this era entitled An American Band: The America Story which was very difficult for him to write because of the bad memories it brought up.^[1]

Contemporary Christian music

Peek left the band shortly after the February 1977 release of the Harbor album. Years of life on the road had taken a toll on him.^[4] He renewed his Christian faith and had begun to seek a different artistic direction than Beckley or Bunnell. He went on to sign with Pat Boone's Lamb & Lion Records^[4] and found modest success as a pioneering artist in the emerging Christian pop music genre, outside of rejoining Beckley and Bunnell on stage on one spontaneous occasion several years after.^{[citation needed]}

Peek's debut solo album, All Things Are Possible was released in 1979. Chris Christian co-wrote, produced, and contributed acoustic guitar and backing vocals on All Things Are Possible. It reached the Billboard charts, making the Top 10 in the A/C Billboard chart and number 1 in the Christian charts. Another song on the album, "Love Was Just Another Word", was recorded in LA and written by Chris Christian and Steve Kipner. Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell contributed the background vocals. This was the last time the three original members of America recorded together.^{[citation needed]} (According to Peek and Bunnell, Peek joined the group to perform a few songs during a concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, in 1983. However, this has not been substantiated by published sources, and those audience members who have posted online about the show say they don't remember seeing Peek there.) Peek followed "All Things Are Possible" with "Doer of the Word". "Doer of the Word" was a number 1 Christian hit and Gerry Beckley sang background vocals on the record, but Beckley did the recording at Chris Christian's studio in Dallas and Dan was not present.

Peek's first solo album and single became popular hits on contemporary Christian music (CCM) radio stations and charts. The single "All Things Are Possible" not only hit number 1 on the CCM singles chart, it also crossed over to the Billboard singles and adult contemporary charts, becoming one of the earliest CCM's crossover hits. At the 22nd Grammy Awards, the album was nominated,^[2] losing in the Contemporary Gospel category to The Imperials album Heed the Call.

Peek waited five years before releasing a second solo album, 1984's Doer of the Word. While several of his songs would make the CCM charts, none crossed over to the Pop or Adult Contemporary charts. The title track, "Doer of the Word", was an upbeat, very "America-like" song^{[citation needed]} that was backed by Beckley. It hit number 2 on the CCM charts. 1986 saw the release of his Electrovoice album, again to the CCM market, which included a remake of "Lonely People", featuring a very similar lead vocal treatment and overall arrangement that was done on the original America version years prior. He changed some of the song's lyrics to reflect his Christian faith,^{[citation needed]} for example the lines "And ride that highway in the sky" and "You never know until you try" became "And give your heart to Jesus Christ."

Peek spent much of the 1990s in semi-retirement, occasionally recording music at his home in Bodden Town, Grand Cayman Island.^[4] He released several solo projects and collaborated with Ken Marvin and Brian Gentry as "Peace" on three albums. In the years before his death, Peek released music via his website. His last musical collaboration was performing lead vocal on a track on the 2011 album Steps On The Water by Etcetera.

Personal life

Peek was born in Panama City, Florida.^[1] Beginning in 1963, Peek was educated at London Central Elementary High School at Bushey Hall in North London. In 1973 he married Catherine Maberry,^[3] with whom he would write a number of songs, including "Lonely People".^[5] He published an autobiography entitled An American Band, based on America's most successful period, and his own spiritual journey.^[4]

Peek died in his sleep on July 24, 2011 at age 60 at his home in Farmington, Missouri.^[1]

Discography

Table Key:
CCM – Contemporary Christian Music Chart
BB – Billboard Pop Singles Chart
AC – Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart
CB – Cash Box Singles Chart

Year	Title Album -------------------------- Single	CCM	BB [6]	AC [6]	CB [7]	Comments
1979	All Things Are Possible (album)	-	-	-	-	Produced by Chris Christian
1979	"All Things Are Possible"	1	78	6	95	13 weeks at number 1. Nominated for a “Grammy” award.
1980	"Ready for Love"	-	-	-	-	7 Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart
1981	"Divine Lady"	23	-	-	-	-
1979	On This Christmas Night	-	-	-	-	Produced by Chris Christian
1979	"The Star"	-	-	-	-	"On Christmas Night" Christmas song
1984	Doer of the Word (album)	-	-	-	-	-Produced by Chris Christian
1984	"Doer of the Word"	2	-	-	-	Backing vocal by Gerry Beckley
1985	"Power and Glory"	-	-	-	-	-
1986	Electro Voice (album)	-	-	-	-	-
1986	"Lonely People"	2	-	-	-	Remake of Peek’s 1975 hit with America
1986	"Electro Voice"	7	-	-	-	-
1987	Cross Over (album)	-	-	-	-	-
1987	"Cross Over"	13	-	-	-	-
1988	Best of Dan Peek	-	-	-	-	-
1989	Living Water	-	-	-	-	With Marvin and Gentry
1994	Stronger Than You Know	-	-	-	-	Peace with Marvin and Gentry
1997	Peace	-	-	-	-	Peace with Marvin and Gentry
1998	"Summer Rain"	-	-	-	-	Peace with Marvin and Gentry
1999	Bodden Town	-	-	-	-	-
2000	Under the Mercy	-	-	-	-	Peace with Marvin and Gentry
2000	"On Wings of Eagles"	-	-	-	-	-
2000	Caribbean Christmas	-	-	-	-	Instrumental
2001	Driftin'	-	-	-	-	-
2002	Guitar Man	-	-	-	-	-
2006	Guitar Man II	-	-	-	-	Digital Internet release
2007	All American Boy	-	-	-	-	Digital Internet release

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Lewis, Randy (27 July 2011). "Dan Peek dies at 60; founding member of the band America". LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dan-peek-20110727,0,1714260.story. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "America singer Dan Peek dies aged 60". BBC News. July 27, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14306120. Retrieved 2011-07-27. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Margalit Fox (July 26, 2011). "Dan Peek, of the Rock Band America, Dies at 60". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/arts/music/dan-peek-of-the-rock-band-america-dies-at-60.html?ref=deathsobituaries. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Dan Peek". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8666525/Dan-Peek.html. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
5. ^ "Lonely People" compositional info, ASCAP. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
6. ^ ^{a b} "– US Billboard Music Charts". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/genre_index.jsp. Retrieved 2011-07-27. 
7. ^ "US Cash Box Charts". CashBoxMagazine.com. http://www.cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27. 

External links

• Official website
• Dan Peek at Allmusic
• Dan Peek at the Internet Movie Database
• Official America Homepage
• Official America fans page
• Obituary of Dan Peek, The Daily Telegraph, 27 July, 2011

Persondata
Name	Peek, Dan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 1, 1950
Place of birth	Panama City, Florida
Date of death	July 24, 2011
Place of death	Farmington, Missouri