Ray Robinson

Meet Ray Robinson from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

My name is Ray Robinson and I'll be 50 years old on 1 September 2003. I remember the first time I heard "A Horse With No Name" in March 1972. I was on leave from the US Army getting ready to move to Germany, and I was cruising a dirt road near our farm in Iowa. I have always been a huge music fan, but this was something special... it remains my favorite song of all time to this day.

Once I got to Germany I bought the first album and found that "Horse With No Name" was missing. Huh? (It was originally released without "Horse," making it a collector's item.) But shortly thereafter the album came out with "Horse." What a great album it was. I was still overseas when the second album came out and, though it was somewhat different, still went over big with the barracks rats (the guys who lived in the barracks). We all were buying expensive stereos (we didn't have anything else to spend our money on) and we listened to the music LOUD! I knew that I would never tire of these two albums, and I haven't, even to this day. The first album remains my favorite album of all time, with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and the Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed" coming in right behind, followed by America's "Homecoming!" (I also love everything by Alan Parsons.) And I've been a loyal America fan to this day.

In fact, their early songs (especially "Horse") filled me with a sense of wanderlust that moved me to begin to learn more about the American Southwest deserts, where I live today. (I also had a four and a half year break in service from 1973 to 1978 in Iowa, where I canoed and camped, and `tried' playing the guitar with friends, having a generally great time_ I still find Iowa a wonderful place to go back and explore the country roads and visit with old friends, America fans all!!!)

But since reentering the service I have lived in the deserts near Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, and the Big Bend country of Texas (I switched from the Army to the Air Force in 1982). I've had many wonderful moments hiking the deserts and mountains. (I am now retired from the Air Force and live in Colorado Springs (which is an alpine desert environ), near Pikes Peak.) My moments in the desert have included thunderstorms, tequila sunrise colored sunsets, flowers blooming everywhere, rattlesnakes (which are actually cool, elegant creatures), dark star filled nights the likes you can only experience in the desert, and special places including hiking the Grand Canyon (twice, so far). And I give "A Horse With No Name" and other songs off of the first three albums motivation for making what, for me, was a wonderful life changing decision. (Thanks, Dewey. I don't know if you had the same desert experiences I have had that inspired you to write "Horse," but your song(s) have added a lot to my enjoyment of life, both for the music and it's encouragement to really look at the natural world around me!!!) If any of you are even the least bit interested in our American Southwest check out the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.... the most beautiful place in the world with its snow-capped mountains, deserts, red rock canyons, and Indian cliff dwellings.

I've only had three opportunities to see America in concert, because of my military assignments made it a little bit difficult, but there were pluses... I got to see Dewey and Gerry on 3 July 1979 at Red Rocks in Denver (I was still in the Army stationed at Fort Carson on a second hitch before I switched over to the Air Force), as well as shows in 1999 and 2000 in Denver again. Also, I have got to see some of the locations in England where America first formed (I was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford), as well as picking up a brand new (it is still in pristine condition) LP of the first album, America (Warner Brothers K 46093) which was the English release and DOES NOT contain "A Horse With No Name," as originally released. Oh, and yeah, I got to drive an M-60 main battle tank, repel down mountains, hike the Grand Canyon, flew over Mount McKinley, visited castles, saw Shakespeare's grave, floated the Rhine River, hiked the Alps, explored the Alamo, watched ships travel the Panama Canal, saw the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, visited Arlington and the White House, and I got to fly in the back seat (and take over the controls) of an F-15B Eagle (fighter jet) and fly it over the Grand Canyon... on its side!!! I've got to live in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Texas, Germany, England, Missouri, Kentucky, and Georgia. And I'm returning to Europe for a 60th Anniversary D-Day tour of France (and no, I don't have any bad feelings towards the French), Luxemburg, Belgium, and Germany. Plus many, many more adventures, past, present, and future...

Anyway, I have all America albums up through Perspective on LP, and all their albums on CD. Plus I have two of the albums, Hat Trick (P-8376W) and Harbor (BSK 3017), which have posters inside (of which the Hat Trick poster is especially nice to have). I also own two copies of the 45 release featuring "A Horse With No Name" and the acoustic version of "Everyone I Meet Is From California," (Warner Brothers 7555). My brother Carl, another longtime America fan (who lives in San Diego and always catches the band when they play at Humphries), was nice enough to get me an autographed photo of America and one of Gerry's guitar picks (complete with Gerry's name embossed). (By the way, if you own the first record (LP) and can adjust the speed, try slowing it down... it'll take on a new, haunting perspective!) And yes, I do own a copy of the first LP American release, America (Warner Brothers 2576) with "Horse" on it. I also have the songbooks for America, Homecoming, and Hat Trick. And I also have "America Live in Central Park" (Laser Disk video), "America in Concert" DVD, and Musik Laden's "America, Horse With No Name" Video CD (which plays on both computers and DVDs, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED_ you can find it on this America Fan's web site)

I just finished as a student science teacher, with my main degree in biology, and hope to be teaching high school science starting in the fall. My hobbies are music, astronomy, natural history, history, reading, weight training, hiking (and walking), and road trips (plus overdoing biographies apparently_) My wife, Nenette, is also a huge fan (they love America in the Phillipines!!!)

Feel free to send your comments or questions to Ray.