Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley (born September 12, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas) is a founding member of the band America.Beckley was born to an American father and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music band in Virginia. He spent every summer in England and soon discovered 'British invasion' music.