Gerald Linford Beckley (born September 12, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, and a founding member of the band America.

In 1967, Beckley's father became the commander at the United States Air Force base at RAF West Ruislip, near London.

Originally, the group played on Friday nights at the local American teen club, mostly doing acoustic covers of Crosby, Stills, and Nash tunes.

[2] In the 1990 John Waters film Cry-Baby, Beckley, Andrew Gold, and Timothy B. Schmit appeared as Baldwin and the Whiffles, performing "Mister Sandman", "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane", and "Sh-Boom".

Beckley debuted his 2016 Blue Elan Records solo album Carousel on September 7, 2016, with a live performance at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, California.

Matthew is also a musician; he has toured with Katy Perry and has worked with other artists, including Ke$ha and Britney Spears.