Tom Hullinger

Tom with an Ambrosia band member (Burleigh) after the America/Ambrosia concert in Cerritos, California on March 28, 1998.

Meet Tom Hullinger from northeastern Indiana.

My wife, Mary Jo, and I have been America fans since we began dating back in 1973. We were married in 1976. We have been blessed with two beautiful daughters; Lindsay-16 & Holly-12. I am a Controller for a local bank. My wife works for the local school corporation. We live in a small town in northeastern Indiana, near Fort Wayne.

We have seen America five times. The first time was 1975 when Dan Peek was still with the band. The second time was in 1977, without Dan, and right after the release of the Harbor album. Both of these were played before sellout crowds of 10,000 people. We can remember the disappointment during the 1977 show of the announcement that Dan had left the band. We continued to purchase the new America albums as they were released. Each new release was exciting. A good friend of mine remarked that America never recorded a bad song. We concur. The "Your Move" album was a particular favorite of my oldest daughter when she was about 3 years old. I played the tape as we drove in the car. She definitely had her favorite songs-especially "Honey" & "Your Move".

There was a void in our lives in the mid '80's with no new America music. We did see them in 1987 during this void. I remember them doing "Hell's on Fire" and Dewey making the remark that this would be on their next album, if they could find a label. Then, in 1991, I came across the "Encore" album. Hurrah, new music!! It had been a long dry spell. And one of the new songs was (you guessed it) "Hell's on Fire". Then in 1992, America returned to Ft. Wayne and played a small venue that holds about 2000 people. It was an outstanding show, especially to be so close to the band. After the show we were able to obtain Gerry and Michael's autograph. There were too many people to be able to talk to them. However, the following year, 1993, they returned to the same venue. This time we were determined to meet the guys. After the show, we waited patiently outside the dressing room. Finally, Willie & Gerry appeared. We had brought every one of our albums. We approached Gerry for autographs. He was very gracious and signed each album. As he was signing, we talked about their upcoming record deal with American Gramaphone. My wife was too excited to talk. Starstruck!!! Obviously, she has admired Gerry from the beginning. We now follow America via the internet.

Thank you Steve and Rick for your super web pages. We look forward to the release on cd of the Capitol years. America music has been an important part of our lives. Thank you Gerry, Dewey and Dan for the great music.

On March 27-28, 1998 I flew to the California to see America and Ambrosia (my two favorite bands) at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Here are a few pictures that I took.

Feel free to send your comments or questions to Tom.