Written by Dewey Bunnell, it was released on the Warner Bros. label, in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States.

[6] The song was quickly added to a rerelease of the bands' debut studio album, America (original release January 1972).

Originally called "Desert Song", "Horse" was written while the band was staying at the home of musician Arthur Brown, near Puddletown, Dorset, England.

[7] The first two demos were recorded there by Jeff Dexter and Dennis Elliott, which were intended to capture the sensation of the hot, dry desert that had been depicted in a Salvador Dalí painting, and in a picture by M. C. Escher which featured a horse.

Writer Dewey Bunnell also says he remembered his childhood travels through the Arizona and New Mexico desert when his family lived at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Trying to find a song that would be popular in both the United States and Europe, Warner Bros. was reluctant to release the ballad "I Need You" as the first single from America.

The label asked the band if it had any other material, then arranged for America to record four more songs at Morgan Studios, in Willesden, London.

[9] "A Horse with No Name" was released as the featured song on a three-track single in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy and the Netherlands in late 1971.

[11] Produced by Ian Samwell on the day of final recording at Morgan Studios, when at first the group thought it was too corny and took some convincing to actually play it.

Despite the song being banned by some US radio stations, most notably WHB in Kansas City, because of supposed drug references to heroin use ("horse" is a common slang term for heroin),[13] the song ascended to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the album quickly reached platinum status.

[17] The song has received criticism for its lyrics, including "The heat was hot"; "There were plants, and birds, and rocks, and things"; and "'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain.