Daniel Mayo (October 2, 1950 – October 2, 1999) was an American songwriter, primarily known for writing country hits for artists such as

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...

Pirates of the Mississippi Pirates of the Mississippi were an American country music band founded in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee. The original members were Bill McCorvey (lead vocals, guitar), Rich Alves (lead guitar, background vocals), Jimmy Lowe (drums), Pat Severs ( ...

and

Confederate Railroad Confederate Railroad (originally known as "Confederate RR") is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia, by Danny Shirley (lead vocals), Michael Lamb (lead guitar), Mark Dufresne (drums), Chris McDaniel (keyboards), ...

. Byrd's "

The Keeper of the Stars "The Keeper of the Stars" is a song written by Dickey Lee, Danny Mayo and Karen Staley, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in February 1995 as the fourth and last single from his album '' No Ordinary Man'', ...

", which he wrote with

Dickey Lee Royden Dickey Lipscomb (born September 21, 1936), known professionally as Dickey Lee (sometimes misspelled Dickie or Dicky), is an American pop/country singer and songwriter, best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs " Patches" and "Laurie ( ...

and

Karen Staley Karen Staley (born in Weirton, West Virginia) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Staley was raised in Georgetown, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and was inspired to write songs after reading through the hymnals at her local church. S ...

, was named Song of the Year by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

in 1995.

Biography

Danny Mayo grew up in Gadsden, Alabama. He graduated

Emma Sansom High School Emma Sansom High School (opened 1929 – closed 2006) was a high school located in Gadsden, Alabama. It was named for a young girl ( Emma Sansom) who was credited with helping General Nathan Bedford Forrest to cross Black Creek in Gadsden, Ala ...

. He then joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and moved to Charleston, South Carolina.

Personal life

He was married to Becky Thornhill (née Harwood), but they divorced before he moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. They have two children,

Aimee Mayo Aimee Mayo (born September 28, 1971) is an American author and songwriter from Gadsden. She has written songs recorded by artists such as Tim McGraw, Meghan Trainor, The Backstreet Boys, Billy Currington, and Kellie Pickler. She co-wrote the ...

and Cory Mayo, both songwriters themselves.

Death

Mayo was staying at the

Ramada Inn Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As of December 31, 2022, it operates 851 hotels with 120,344 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from th ...

in Nashville for his 49th birthday celebration. His son, Cory, wrote his very first song for his father's birthday, Danny was managing and producing singer/songwriter, Tammy Cassidy from Troy, Indiana, who co-wrote and recorded the last Danny Mayo song, “A Heart's Point of View,” which was the title of Cassidy's 2003 album. However, when he did not arrive at Gabes Night Club, next door to the hotel, his friend and co-writer and owner of Tunesmith Entertainment, Nan Cassidy went to check on his welfare. Nan requested Hotel management to open the room 171 door, and upon doing so, Mayo was found dead from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

.Danny Mayo, heart attack death
/ref>

Discography

: " If I Had You" *

: "

Jesus and Mama "Jesus and Mama" is a song written by Danny Mayo and James Dean Hicks, and recorded by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was released in July 1992 as the second single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song peaked ...

", "She Took It Like a Man", "She Never Cried" *

: "

Feed Jake "Feed Jake" is a song written by Danny Mayo, and recorded by American country music band Pirates of the Mississippi. It was released in February 1991 as the third single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song is also the band's highest ...

", "Speak of the Devil", "Anything Goes", "Redneck Rock & Roll", "My Kinda Woman" *

: "

" *

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Cashat (born February 24, 1958), known professionally as Sammy Kershaw, is an American country music singer. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 2 ...

: "Cantaloupes on Mars" *

Rick Trevino Ricardo Treviño Jr. (born May 16, 1971), known professionally as Rick Trevino, is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Nashville in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single "Just Enough Rope", ...

: "The Pain" *

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...

: "It's a Start" *

Jeff Carson Jeffrey Lee Herndon (December 16, 1963 – March 26, 2022), known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in 1 ...

: "The Stone" *

Gene Watson Gary Gene Watson (born October 11, 1943) is an American country music singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit " Love in the Hot Afternoon", his 1981 number-one hit " Fourteen Carat Mind", and his signature 1979 song " Farewell Party". Wats ...

: "Change Her Mind" *

Marlon Jackson Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957) is an American singer and dancer best known as a member of the Jackson 5. He is the sixth child of the Jackson family. Marlon now runs Study Peace Foundation to promote peace and unity worldwide. Earl ...

: "Baby Tonight" *

South 65 South 65 (also spelled South Sixty-Five) was an American country music boy band. The group was composed of vocalists Lance Leslie, Brent Parker, Stephen Parker, Jerimy Koeltzow, and Doug Urie. Between 1997 and its disbanding in 2001, South 65 cha ...

: "Dream Large" *

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

: "Mr. Right Now"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Danny 1950 births 1999 deaths American country songwriters American male songwriters Musicians from Gadsden, Alabama Songwriters from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American songwriters