Homecoming (America album)

Homecoming is the second studio album by America, released on November 15, 1972, through Warner Bros. Records. Acoustic guitar-based, with a more pronounced electric guitar and keyboard section than their first album, their second effort helped continue the band's success, and includes one of their best known hits, "Ventura Highway".

Homecoming
Studio album by America
Released	November 15, 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	The Record Plant, Los Angeles[1]
Genre	Folk rock, soft rock
Length	33:06
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	America
America chronology
America (1971) Homecoming (1972) Hat Trick (1973)
Singles from Homecoming
"Ventura Highway" Released: October 1972[2] "Don't Cross the River" Released: January 1973 "Only in Your Heart" Released: April 1973

Homecoming peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Pop Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It produced three hit singles: "Ventura Highway", which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard singles chart and number 3 on the adult contemporary chart; "Don't Cross the River", which hit number 35 on Billboard and 23 on the AC chart; and "Only in Your Heart" peaked at number 62 on Billboard's Pop singles chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "To Each His Own", "California Revisited", and "Cornwall Blank".

For this album and the next six throughout the next five years, the group traditionally chose titles beginning with the letter "H" (the self-titled debut album became unofficially included in this distinction when fans started referring to it as the "Horse with No Name" album when that track was added to later pressings).

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

In his AllMusic review music critic David Cleary called Homecoming "America's finest album" and despite citing sometimes banal lyrics, wrote that "each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen."^[3]

Record World said of "Don't Cross the River" that it was a "more countrified cut [than 'Ventura Highway'] complete with banjos and all."^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ventura Highway"	Dewey Bunnell	3:32
2.	"To Each His Own"	Gerry Beckley	3:13
3.	"Don't Cross the River"	Dan Peek	2:30
4.	"Moon Song"	Bunnell	3:41
5.	"Only in Your Heart"	Beckley	3:16
6.	"Till the Sun Comes Up Again"	Beckley	2:12
7.	"Cornwall Blank"	Bunnell	4:19
8.	"Head and Heart"	John Martyn	3:49
9.	"California Revisited"	Peek	3:03
10.	"Saturn Nights"	Peek	3:31

Personnel

America

• Dan Peek – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Gerry Beckley – guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass guitar on "Till the Sun Comes Up Again" and "Head and Heart"
• Dewey Bunnell – guitar, vocals, percussion on "Head & Heart"

with:

• Joe Osborn – bass guitar
• Hal Blaine – drums, percussion
• Gary Mallaber – drums and percussion on "Till the Sun Comes Up Again"

Technical

• Gary Burden – art direction, design
• Henry Diltz – photography, banjo on "Don't Cross the River"
• Bill Halverson – engineer
• Lee Herschberg – mastering
• Chuck Leary – engineering assistance
• Mike D. Stone of the Record Plant – engineering
• Yoshiro Nagato – liner notes

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1972–1973) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6] 17 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 6 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 42 Spain (AFYVE)[9] 17 UK Albums (OCC)[10] 21 US Billboard 200[11] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Position US Billboard 200[12] 40

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[13]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[14]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Album Information - Highway: 30 Years of America".
2. "Great Rock Discography". p. 16.
3. Cleary, David. Homecoming > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
4. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "America". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 16. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
5. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 20 January 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4277". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
8. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
9. Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
10. "America | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
11. "America Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
12. "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1973". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
13. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
14. "Canadian album certifications – America – Homecoming". Music Canada.
15. "American album certifications – America – Homecoming". Recording Industry Association of America.