<P> America's first studio album without Peek, 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, 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 No. 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 Garafalo replaced Dickey in 1980 and Bradley Palmer took over from Garafalo in 1981 . </P> <P> America continued to evolve as the 1980s began . For their next album, Alibi, released in August 1980, Beckley and Bunnell sought fresh personnel in the form of producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin . They also employed players from the West Coast, such as the 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 maximised at No. 142 . </P> <P> America's next album, View from the Ground, released in July 1982, saw 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's Jeff Porcaro, Christopher Cross and Dean Parks . But it was former Argent guitarist Russ Ballard who 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". The song rose quickly through the pop charts, and scored as high as No. 8 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", an homage to silent movie actors better known to listeners as "Rudolph Valentino" due to its memorable refrain . Written by Ian Thomas (brother of comedian Dave Thomas of Strange Brew fame), and produced by Bobby Colomby, the single barely missed a spot in the Top Forty during early 1983 . Although View from the Ground failed to achieve gold - rated sales, it scored as high as No. 41 on the album charts, a significant improvement over the previous few releases . </P> <P> Having had success with Ballard, Beckley and Bunnell asked the former Argent performer 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 material of their own . On one track, Bunnell decided to rewrite Ballard's lyrics, and the successful 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 No. 33 on the charts in August 1983 . "The Border" was much more successful on the adult contemporary charts, where it scored No. 4 (even besting "You Can Do Magic"). It also made No. 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 No. 81, but something of a disappointment, when compared to its predecessor . </P>

List of all songs by the band america