Editing America (band) (section)

===Capitol years (1979–1985)===
{{Original research|section|date=February 2015}}
After more than two years without new studio material, Beckley and Bunnell presented the group's new style with a cover of [[The Mamas & the Papas]]' "[[California Dreamin']]" in March 1979. It was featured on the soundtrack for the 1979 movie ''[[California Dreaming (1979 film)|California Dreaming]]''. Although the movie was unsuccessful and the soundtrack was issued by an obscure distributor known as American International, the single reached number 56 on the charts.

America's first studio album without Peek, ''[[Silent Letter (album)|Silent Letter]]'', was released in June 1979 on their new label, [[Capitol Records]]. The album, once again produced by George Martin, was recorded in [[Montserrat]] in the West Indies with the members of the live band: David Dickey, Willie Leacox, Michael Woods (their former roadie, who joined their touring band in late 1977 on lead guitar), Jim Calire and Tom Walsh. The group began to use songs from other songwriters as they sought to increase their commercial success. The album scored no higher than number 110 on the charts, leading Bunnell sarcastically to dub the album ''Silent Record''. During the latter part of 1979, Calire and Walsh were dropped from the on-stage line-up. Session bassist Bryan Garofalo replaced Dickey in 1980 and Bradley Palmer took over from Garafalo in 1981.

America continued to evolve as the 1980s began. For their next album, ''[[Alibi (America album)|Alibi]]'', released in August 1980, Beckley and Bunnell sought fresh personnel in the form of producers Matthew McCauley and [[Fred Mollin]].<ref>[https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-oct-30-1981-p-45/ "Musical Ambassadors travel to South America"]. ''Colorado Springs Gazette'', via Newspaper Archives. 30 October 1981 - Page 45</ref> They also employed players from the West Coast, such as the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]]' [[Timothy B. Schmit]], [[Leland Sklar]] and [[Steve Lukather]], to help improve their sound. ''Alibi'' eschewed the strings and brass of a typical George Martin project in favour of a more popular-rock style. It also became the third studio album in a row without a successful single in the United States, although Beckley's "Survival" scored the top of the charts in Italy. The album's sales peaked at number 142.

America's next album, ''[[View from the Ground]]'', released in July 1982, had the group finally score another commercial success. The album, recorded under the working title ''Two Car Garage'', featured a number of songs produced by the duo themselves. As with ''Alibi'' (1980), Beckley and Bunnell brought in a number of high-profile musicians, including the Beach Boys' [[Carl Wilson]], [[Toto (band)|Toto]]'s [[Jeff Porcaro]], [[Christopher Cross]] and [[Dean Parks]]. Former [[Argent (band)|Argent]] guitarist [[Russ Ballard]], though, had the greatest effect on the group's fortunes. Ballard produced and played all of the instruments and sang most of the background vocals on a song he crafted especially for the band, called "[[You Can Do Magic (song)|You Can Do Magic]]". The song rose quickly through the pop charts and scored as high as number eight on the ''Billboard'' pop-singles chart for a number of weeks during October 1982, the band's first major success in seven years. Following "Magic" was the single "[[Right Before Your Eyes]]". Written by [[Ian Thomas (Canadian musician)|Ian Thomas]] (brother of comedian [[Dave Thomas (actor)|Dave Thomas]] of ''[[Strange Brew]]'' and [[Second City Television|SCTV]] fame), and produced by [[Bobby Colomby]], the single barely missed a spot in the top 40 during early 1983. They did perform the song in season 2-episode 6 of SCTV, aired November 26, 1982. Although ''View from the Ground'' failed to achieve gold-rated sales, it scored as high as number 41 on the album charts, a significant improvement over the previous few releases.

Having had success with Ballard, Beckley and Bunnell asked the former Argent performer to produce their next album, ''[[Your Move]]'', in its entirety. In the end, Ballard wrote most of the songs and performed most of the instruments in addition to his production duties. For the most part, Beckley and Bunnell were singers on an album that Ballard had crafted for them, although they did contribute some of their own material. On one track, Bunnell decided to rewrite Ballard's lyrics, and the successful song "[[The Border (America song)|The Border]]" was the result. Set to the backing of the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] and the saxophone work of [[Raphael Ravenscroft]], the single scored number 33 on the charts in August 1983. "The Border" was much more successful on the adult contemporary charts, where it scored number four (even bettering "You Can Do Magic"). It also made number 24 on the Dutch top 40. A second single, Ballard's "Cast the Spirit", failed to chart. The album itself, released in June 1983, was reasonably successful at number 81, but something of a disappointment, when compared to its predecessor.

America's work was also featured on several soundtracks during this period. Beckley and Bunnell provided vocals to several Jimmy Webb compositions for the film ''[[The Last Unicorn (film)|The Last Unicorn]]'' in 1982. The [[The Last Unicorn (album)|soundtrack]] became popular in Germany and the group frequently plays its title track when touring in that country. America also recorded "Love Comes Without Warning" for the 1984 [[Steve Martin]] comedy ''[[The Lonely Guy]]''.

Dan Peek emerged from several years of musical obscurity during May 1984, releasing his second solo Christian album, ''[[Doer of the Word]]'', on [[Home Sweet Home Records]]. Once again produced by Chris Christian, the album's title track featured Beckley on backing vocals. Peek issued two more solo albums over the next few years: ''Electro Voice'' (1986) and ''Crossover'' (1987).

Meanwhile, America opted for a decidedly different style from their previous offerings for their 12th studio album, ''[[Perspective (America album)|Perspective]]'', released in September 1984. Ballard was out and synthesizers and drum machines were in. Several different producers, including [[Richie Zito]], [[Matthew McCauley (producer)|Matthew McCauley]] (who had already produced the aforementioned track "Love Comes Without Warning" that appeared earlier that year in the film ''[[The Lonely Guy]]'') and [[Richard James Burgess]], helped create an electronic popular style that was very common during the 1980s but drastically different from America's usual style. "[[Special Girl (song)|Special Girl]]", the album's first single, was culled from hired songwriters and failed to make the Hot 100. The next single, "Can't Fall Asleep to a Lullaby", was co-written by Bunnell, [[Journey (band)|Journey]]'s [[Steve Perry]], Robert Haimer, and [[Bill Mumy]], the latter of ''[[Lost in Space]]'' and ''[[Babylon 5]]'' fame. Although neither track was played on popular radio, both did achieve minor success on the adult contemporary charts. The album peaked at number 185 during a three-week stint on the charts in October 1984.

Their mainstream commercial success over, Beckley and Bunnell ended their Capitol contract with ''[[In Concert (1985 America album)|In Concert]]'', released in July 1985. The album was recorded at the Arlington Theater in [[Santa Barbara, California]] on 1 June 1985. ''In Concert'' became the first America album to miss the charts entirely.