In the 1970s, the band America became known for a string of memorable soft rock hits. But one of the group’s biggest songs had an unusual origin: not only did it take inspiration from one of the most beloved movies of all time, but it was written by a band member who was so unsure about it that he reportedly begged the group not to record it.
Fifty-two years later, “Tin Man” is remembered as one of America’s signature songs.
Written by Dewey Bunnell, the song features a blend of acoustic guitars and breezy folk-rock harmonies as it draws whimsical inspiration from The Wizard of Oz character the Tin Woodman. With the line “Well Oz never did give nothin’ to the Tin Man That he didn’t, didn’t already have,” the song’s chorus suggests that the Tin Man already possessed what he was searching for.
The song, from the album Holiday, reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1974—but it was almost stopped by Bunnell himself.
In the book An American Band: The America Story, America co-founder Dan Peek described the song as “quintessential Dewey – easy stream of consciousness with a major seventh acoustic bed.” But he also claimed that Bunnell actually begged the band not to record the song, according to Rhino.com.
“Knowing Dewey, it was probably reverse psychology,” Peek wrote. “If it was, Gerry [Beckley] and I fell for it, insisting it was perfect for the album.”
Bunnell opened up about “Tin Man” many times over the years, and it certainly seemed he wrote the song with the intention of recording it.
In 2017, Bunnell told Songwriter Universe that The Wizard of Oz was his favorite movie of all time and that it inspired him.
“It embedded itself in my psyche as a young kid, and I just can’t ever shake that,” he said. “It was an inspiring film, and of course it had all the messages…that we all have our brain and our heart and our courage if we look inside, …’Tin Man’ was really the first song we did with (legendary Beatles producer) George Martin. So it has a special place in our history.”
In an interview posted by American Songwriter, Bunnell further explained that “Tin Man” was “manufactured from the chunks of thoughts and themes” that he was putting together into “a kind of mosaic.”
“It wasn’t a common thread,” he shared.
“I originally wanted to write a cohesive dialogue about The Wizard of Oz, which I loved,” he added. “By the time I was writing this, which was for the fourth album, I was working harder on the lyrics, I was trying. It became more of ‘Hey, I’m a songsmith now. I’m supposed to be writing.’”
Decades after penning “Tin Man,” Bunnell hasn’t tired of performing it live. In 2021, he told Glide magazine, “I love recording, and we’ve done it a lot -especially during those concentrations of years in the 70’s – but with the live show, you’re really connecting, living, and breathing the songs.”
“So many people say to me, ‘How do you go out there and sing ‘Horse with No Name’ every night, or ‘Tin Man’ or whatever,” the America singer added. “And I never do wary of it. I do like getting up there. Some people liken it to re-painting the ‘Mona Lisa’ every night.”
Related: 1975 Soft Rock Greatest Hits Album Is Suddenly Making a Chart Comeback 51 Years Later
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