# Does this song by 70's band America sound like the Beatles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 11, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050 "2021-06-11T14:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/1 "2021-06-11T14:56:59Z")
I remember when this aired on the radio. I always thought it was The Beatles. It took awhile to remember its America. But why? Is it the chords? It starts with a bar of A, one bar Amaj7, and then a bar of Em7, Dm7. The maj7 chord is very distinctive. It was used a lot in the 60’s. The two minor 7th chords in the 3rd bar are so pretty. I love playing this on the piano. The melody sounds _so darn familiar_ but I can’t point to a specific Beatles song. It just has that warm Beatles feeling. Do you get the same reaction? Which Beatles song does this sound like? I Need You [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZL6P4KQ6Sc) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/2 "2021-06-11T15:10:32Z")
Yeah, I’m getting that “Beatles” vibe, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/3 "2021-06-11T15:12:30Z")
Sounds more like Badfinger to me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/4 "2021-06-11T15:13:20Z")
Honestly, I’m not getting a whole lotta Beatles…maybe a hint of McCartney. (To be fair, I really don’t think any of the “Beatles-esque” bands really sound like the Beatles to me, not even Klaatu.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/5 "2021-06-11T15:13:30Z")
George Martin did produce a couple of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/6 "2021-06-11T15:15:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > George Martin did produce a couple of their albums. And, in fact, with regards to “I Need You,” according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Need_You_(America_song)): > [@](#): > > [George Martin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Martin) [remixed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remix) the studio recording for inclusion on _[History: America’s Greatest Hits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History:_America%27s_Greatest_Hits)_ (1975) with the pitch brought down a quarter tone and the bass guitar brought up further in volume from the original release. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/7 "2021-06-11T15:21:43Z")
Martin did influence the production on this one. I Need You is a departure from the guitar driven, Horse With No Name, Ventura Highway, and Sister Golden Hair. That’s a good point kenobi. America History Greatest Hits is the album I listen to regularly. I don’t have the original studio albums. It’s the remix of I Need You that I’m familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/8 "2021-06-11T16:13:58Z")
Sounds quite a bit like the Beatle’s “Something” composition wise. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/9 "2021-06-11T16:39:24Z")
No, sorry, no Beatles vibe here. That first album, also called _America_, is a fine debut. Lots of listenable songs in the pop rock CSN/California style. Oddly, it was released without “A Horse with No Name.” When the single hit number one, it was put on the re-release of the album, which then also hit number one. The heat was hot but so were the giant bags of money it brought in. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/10 "2021-06-11T16:45:57Z")
Well, the first two chords are reminiscent in doing that (somewhat cliche, but not in a bad way) A to Amaj7 thing (“Something” goes C to Cmaj7), but after that it diverges quite a bit, and it doesn’t have the playfulness and musical interest of “Somthing,” IMHO. (Full disclosure: “Something” is perhaps my favorite Beatles tune.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/11 "2021-06-11T16:49:52Z")
Back in the day (read: pre-disco), I would’ve sworn [this one by the BeeGees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3YC5sc_V6I) (especially the opening two verses) was the Fab Four. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/12 "2021-06-11T17:17:52Z")
Yeah, that one is a bit more Beatles-esque to me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/13 "2021-06-11T17:22:10Z")
To me, the song sounds more like Bread, but I’m no expert on the Beatles’ chord progressions. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/14 "2021-06-11T18:18:45Z")
I hear influences from Lennon/McCartney in a lot of 70’s soft rock. I like CSN, Bread and the Bee Gees. It’s a great genre. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/15 "2021-06-11T18:37:23Z")
As **Hampshire** and **pulykamell** note, the two or so bars starting at 0:21 does resemble the melody to “Something” (over the lyrics ‘attracts me like no other…’) But I can’t identify anything else that sounds Beatlesque. The vocal with piano accompaniment reminds me a little of Lennon’s solo work. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/16 "2021-06-11T20:40:18Z")
I have a short list of songs/albums (mostly from the 80s or early 90s) that give me a distinct Beatles vibe (which in at least some cases I assume is deliberate). Not counting obvious Beatles pastiches like The Rutles or Utopia’s album _Deface the Music_, my list includes - [Love Divine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALVI-O_vbiM) - Phil Keaggy (reminds me of “All My Loving”) - [The War In the Gulf Between Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ggwXlMnf8) - Adrian Belew (reminds me of “And Your Bird Can Sing”) - [March of the Gherkins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEnpngZTnt8) - Madness (reminds me of “Penny Lane”) - [On the Stage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVbIfyfJDXo) - Mad At The World (reminds me of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”) - [Traps, Ensnares](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtBNR-tM90) - Daniel Amos (reminds me of “I Am the Walrus”) - [Light Of the World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20-1NWusffk) The Alan Parsons Project (reminds me of “Across the Universe”) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/17 "2021-06-11T21:14:02Z")
At the first couple of piano chords (and very simple fingering), I thought “Hey, Gerrry Beckley and Paul McCartney are at the same level of skill on the piano.” At first, it reminded me of “Baby I’m Amazed” or “Let It Be” (but even less soulful…). Halfway through the song I thought “No, I know what this reminds me of… slow dancing at middle school dances.” (note: that’s not a good thing…) . > I have a short list of songs/albums (mostly from the 80s or early 90s) that give me a distinct Beatles vibe eta: THIS is a great idea. I’m going to do this… (and it made me realize that the answer to “Which musicians from the mid-60s to the present day were influenced by the Beatles?” is _D: All of them_ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/18 "2021-06-11T21:21:27Z")
A Canadian song that has often been called Beatles-like is [Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsqv_ooI0uI) by Michael Pagliaro. In particular when he sings “nobody knows but it’s you-ooh-ooh, whoa oh”, I think. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/19 "2021-06-11T21:22:25Z")
All I know is, the heat was hot. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050/20 "2021-06-11T22:06:56Z")
Well, the title does. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6t24nX_sak8/maxresdefault.jpg "I Need You (Remastered 2009)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t24nX_sak8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-song-by-70s-band-america-sound-like-the-beatles/944050.md?page=2)