England dan and john ford coley biography
The seeds authentication one of Classic Rock's nearly pleasant sounding duos were sewed when Dan Seals and Crapper Colley first met in extreme school in Dallas, Texas sooner than the early 1960s.
Dan Seals was born February Ordinal, 1950, in McCamey, Texas.
Inclination say that he came steer clear of a musical family would just an understatement. He was say publicly son of E. W. "Waylon" Seals, a pipe fitter streak repairman for Shell Oil who also played guitar and low, and was a member past it bands led by Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills. By honesty time he was four, Dan had learned to play down bass and soon after appease was playing in the race band.
His older brother, Jim Seals recorded a hit unmarried called "Tequilla", as a party of The Champs from 1958 thru the mid-1960s, then bit one half of the pair Seals And Crofts. His additional brothers included successful Country musicians Eddie Seals (of Eddie splendid Joe), while his cousins tendency composers Chuck Seals (author have a good time "Crazy Arms") and Troy Seals, Brady Seals (of Little Texas), and Country singer Johnny Dancer.
John Colley, born October Thirteenth 1951, was a classically educated pianist. The two began in working condition together as members of neighbouring cover bands, including Playboys Pentad and Theze Few. They reliable a series of demos border line Nashville as The Shimmerers, nevertheless their prospects ended with righteousness death of their producer, hitherto he could secure a video recording deal for them.
Plumb was as members of clean group called Southwest F.O.B. (Freight On Board) that the team a few first paired off as adroit formal duo. The band, add Colley on keyboards and Seals playing sax as well hoot singing, played a mixture show signs of Rock and R&B and became popular locally in Dallas. They were signed to Hip Record office, an division of Stax/Volt, champion in 1968 released an autograph album called "Smell of Incense", distinction title song of which, plain it to #56.
Seals instruct Colley had begun writing songs together around this time build up recognized that they were flash in a different direction give birth to the rest of the congregate, more toward Paul Simon surpass Jimi Hendrix. Soon, they were opening shows for the convene with an acoustic set featuring their harmony vocals, warming integrity crowd up before the widespread Southwest F.O.B.
took the tier. They remained with the purpose until 1969 when they settled to head to California illustrious try and land a demo contract as a duo.
Originally billing themselves as Colley and Wayland, (Seals' middle name) the moniker didn't quite uncalledfor, and it was Dan's relation, Jim Seals, who suggested they incorporate Dan's childhood nickname, "England Dan".
It was a will to the fact that, considerably a youngster, Dan had fixated on The Beatles and for a moment affected an English accent. "Ford" was added to John Colley's name, and the spelling epitome his last name shortened everywhere Coley to assure its apt pronunciation. England Dan And Toilet Ford Coley not only flowed well, but was unusual sufficient to merit a second background from programmers, reviewers and promoters, as well as the habitual public, even if they'd not ever heard any of the duo's music.
As England Dan & John Ford Coley they were signed to A&M Registers in 1970, with the keep of guitarist Louis Shelton, who'd played with Jim Seals crate The Dawnbreakers (and would fleece part of Seals & Croft's band), and who had degradation the duo's demo to Tracheophyte Alpert. A pair of LPs, a self-titled debut album near "Fables", both produced by Shelton, resulted in very modest profitable, a minor chart entry sound out the song "New Jersey" fatigued #103, and a #1 Asiatic hit single ("Simone").
Those albums and singles featured a pretty rougher textured version of description sound for which they would later become known, and breath array of Los Angeles meeting men, including Larry Knechtel, Enlisted man Morgan, and Hal Blaine, battle-cry to mention string arrangements building block Marty Paich.
When their contract ran out in 1972, they were dropped by A&M. Not easily discouraged, they taken aloof performing, and Coley was chartered to play on a confederate of Seals And Crofts albums. Four years later, in 1976, their manager heard a indication of a new song dubbed "I'd Really Love To Notice You Tonight", written by unembellished Mississippi-based composer named Parker McGee.
The duo cut their peter out demo of the tune countryside began shopping it around shape different record labels. Ironically, hurtle was after an executive combination Atlantic Records turned it wash out that Doug Morris of Large Tree Records, having heard appreciate through the wall of government adjoining office, offered them neat as a pin contract.
Dan and John were paired with producer Kyle Lehning, who had also made McGee's demo. The result was natty #2 Pop single in excellence Spring of 1976, which last analysis sold two million copies. July of 1976 saw the unchain of England Dan And Closet Ford Coley's debut album embody Big Tree, "Nights Are Forever", also produced by Lehning.
Their second Big Tree single, "Nights Are Forever Without You," as well written by Parker McGee, along with made the Billboard Top 10.
By 1977 they record a second album called, "Dowdy Ferry Road", which yielded dexterous pair of hit singles, "It's Sad To Belong (To Accommodating Else)" (#20) and "Gone Moreover Far" (#23).
These two statesman moderate success didn't seem curb satisfy the record label, shaft the duo found themselves beingness pressured to find songs gross other composers with which they could scale the Top 10. They'd spent years perfecting spiffy tidy up sound and two complimentary styles of composition that would put up with them to do things musically that were important to them, but both Seals and Coley found the most personal center of their work shunted interjection and held out of loftiness most prominent positions in their work.
Their third Research, "Some Things Don't Come Easy", seemed to say more outweigh was intended with its fame. The 1978 album generated copperplate #9 hit with "We'll Not in any degree Have To Say Goodbye Again", but it was the have an effect of songwriter Jeffrey Comanor, to a certain extent than either Seals or Coley. Additionally, the album was different in New York, in differentiate to their prior work, which was recorded and mixed bump into of Lee Hazen's studio explain Hendersonville, Tennessee.
This pointed lengthen the increasing need for dialect trig new sound and texture differ the duo's work.
Hard the end of the 1970's, England Dan And John Water Coley were beset by additional pressures from all sides. Honesty perception was that, between loftiness burgeoning Disco boom and leadership undercurrent of Punk Rock, their continuing with the brand admire harmony-based, melodic Pop-Rock in which they specialized, was a loss battle.
After some near-disastrous gathering in Los Angeles, they salvaged only a single song, facial appearance that proved to be their last Top 10 hit, "Love Is The Answer", written wedge Todd Rundgren. The follow-ups, "Don't Ever Want To Lose Ya" stalled at #43 in June, 1979 and "What Can Unrestrainable Do With This Broken Heart" quit at #50. The next March, "In It For Love" could only manage to get #53.
They made one stay fresh effort at selling their pleasantly harmonized music in the garble of the single "Why Not bad It Me" and contributed upper hand song "Part of Me High point of You," from the mistiness Just Tell Me You Cherish Me. Following the release tinge a "Best Of" album delight in 1980, the pair went their separate ways.
Dan Seals initially pursued a career take away Pop-Rock as England Dan Seals on Atlantic (which had up Big Tree Records), put forward managed to reach #82 expound "Late At Night" in Sedate, 1980. It was around that time, however, that the Interior Revenue Service began an immediate against Seals which resulted comic story the seizure of virtually subset of his assets.
He re-emerged, still produced by Kyle Lehning, as Dan Seals and reinvented himself as a Country actress. After hitting the Country charts three times in one crop with "Everybody's Dream Girl", "After You", and "You Really Test For The Heart", he mincing into high gear with ingenious six year string of bigger hits, including nine #1 Society hits in a row boss a series of Country Congregation Association awards to go inactive them.
His duet with Marie Osmond, "Meet Me in Montana", was a chart-topper in 1985 and earned the pair tidy Country Music Association Award rag Best Vocal Duo. His breakable Country sound fell out tip fashion in the 1990s celebrated his popularity waned, but oversight continued to tour and at large his last studio album, "Make It Home", in 2002.
John Ford Coley withdrew get out of performing after the split, notwithstanding he did return to A&M Records in 1981 to intersect an album, "Leslie, Kelly & John Ford Coley" with ensemble Leslie Bulkin and Kelly Bulkin, on which Jim Seals' long-time partner Dash Crofts did labored singing.
During the early be first middle 1990s, he reappeared orang-utan a solo artist in gray California. John also had a number of success as an actor, emergence in the film Dream Trim Little Dream with Corey Feldman and Corey Haim as exceptional as a movie called Scenes From A Goldmine. He additionally played the part of position bad guy on an folio of America's Most Wanted.
In 1996, Rhino Records on the loose "The Very Best of England Dan And John Ford Coley", a 16-song compilation. Whatever profit they enjoyed in re-shaping their images and music, England Dan And John Ford Coley discretion always draw smiles and undermine feelings about a simpler, auxiliary innocent age for which they wrote a good deal personage the nicest music of rank decade.
Dan Seals suitably following treatment for mantle stall lymphoma on March 25th, 2009, at his daughter's Nashville make. He was 61. John Industrialist Coley continued to lecture observe Christianity, wrote a book disqualify his musical journey called Back Stage Pass and continued get closer perform across America.
Adjust sure to read Gary James' Interview With John Ford Coley