News

A few years ago, Omnivore Recordings released two volumes of America’s demos under the titles Heritage I and II, chronicling the years 1970-1976.  Now the label is reteaming with the band to revisit this halcyon period of the band’s history with an expanded 50th anniversary edition of 1975’s Hearts.  It’s due August 8 on CD.

Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek were riding high in 1975.  The bandmates had teamed for the first time with legendary producer George Martin the previous year for Holiday.  That album peaked at No. 3 on the charts and spawned the hits “Tin Man,” penned by Bunnell (No. 4) and “Lonely People,” written by Peek (No. 5).  Martin returned for Hearts and the trio of Beckley, Bunnell and Peek each contributed winning material for the LP which was primarily recorded at Sausalito’s Record Plant with engineer Geoff Emerick manning the board.

With top-notch songwriting, soaring vocals, expansive orchestration, and widescreen production, America’s hitmaking streak continued on Hearts.  Three singles were released.  Peek’s funky “Woman Tonight” hit No. 44 and Beckley’s hauntingly beautiful “Daisy Jane” climbed to No. 20.  But it would be one of Beckley’s other contributions which would garner the most chart success.  “Sister Golden Hair,” released in March 1975, got all the way to No. 1 and became America’s first song to top the charts since 1972’s “A Horse with No Name.”  Hearts became an international success, climbing to No. 4 in the United States and achieving success in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the world.  It remains one of America’s most beloved albums today.

For this special golden anniversary edition, Omnivore is adding six bonus tracks to the original album’s dozen songs.  Five of these are unreleased alternate versions and mixes of songs from Hearts including a unique arrangement of Bunnell’s “People in the Valley,” a stunning vocal-and-strings-only mix of “Daisy Jane” (spotlight both George Martin’s rich string charts and the band’s shimmering harmonies), an acoustic “Old Virginia,” and vocals-and-orchestra mixes of the evocative “Midnight” and the reflective “Seasons.”   The sixth bonus track is the rare Spanish-language single version of “Sister Golden Hair.”  Our very own Joe Marchese has written notes for the release based on new interviews with both Beckley and Bunnell.  Michael Graves has beautifully remastered the audio.

If you would like to travel back 50 years with Omnivore and America, we’ve got the full tracklisting and pre-order links below for this expanded edition of Hearts, due out on August 8.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

America, Hearts (50th Anniversary Expanded Edition) (Omnivore Recordings, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore)

1. Daisy Jane
2. Half A Man
3. Midnight
4. Bell Tree
5. Old Virginia
6. People in the Valley
7. Company
8. Woman Tonight
9. The Story of a Teenager
10. Sister Golden Hair
11. Tomorrow
12. Seasons
13. Midnight (Vocals and Orchestra)
14. Old Virginia (Acoustic Version)
15. People in the Valley (Alternate Version)
16. Daisy Jane (Vocals Only)
17. Seasons (Vocals and Orchestra)
18. Con Tu Pelo Tan Dorado (Spanish Version of “Sister Golden Hair”)

Tracks 1-12 from Hearts, Warner Bros. Records LP BS 2852, 1975
Tracks 13-17 previously unreleased
Track 18 from Warner Bros. Records/Hispavox single 45-1287, 1975​