Dan Peek – pioneer of Christian rock music

Dan Peek was an American musician, a pioneer of Christian rock music. He is best known as a member of the folk rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.
Daniel Milton “Dan” Peek was born on November 1, 1950 in Panama City, Florida. As a child he lived in Japan. In 1963 Peek moved to England.
Peek met his future band mates at school near London. They began as the trio Daze: Peek (guitar / keyboard / backing vocals), Gerry Beckley (lead vocals / guitar / bass) and Dewey Bunnell (guitars / percussion / backing vocals)
In 1971 they released their debut album. The Bunnell composition originally called Desert Song became the band’s most-famous. In the same year the group won a Grammy for best new artist.
The group then compounded platinum status for their album by also taking the 1973 Grammy for Best New Band. Six of the group’s first seven albums achieved either gold or platinum status in the USA. They also had eight Top 40 hits in the early 1970s, according to Billboard.

In 1973 he married Catherine Maberry. They wrote a number of songs together, including Lonely People. He published an autobiography entitled An American Band.
The artist dealt with his growing problems by finding Christianity. His first solo album All Things Are Possible (1979) was well received. Chris Christian co-wrote, produced, and contributed acoustic guitar and backing vocals on the album. Peek followed All Things Are Possible with Doer of the Word, which hit number 2 in the Christian charts.
The 1990s Peek spent in semi-retirement and occasionally recorded music at his home in Bodden Town.
In 2004 he released an autobiography entitled An American Band: The America Story.
He died of fibrinous pericarditis on July 24, 2011 during sleep in Missouri.