Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009), also known as England Dan, was an American musician. The younger brother of

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts were an American soft rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938). They are best known for their hits " Su ...

member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted nine singles between 1976 and 1980, including the No. 2 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit " I'd Really Love to See You Tonight". After the duo disbanded, Seals began a solo career, starting in soft rock before shifting to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, he released 16

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s and charted more than 20 singles on the country charts. Eleven of his singles reached number one: " Meet Me in Montana" (with

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...

), " Bop" (also a No. 42 pop hit), " Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)", "

You Still Move Me "You Still Move Me" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dan Seals. It was released in September 1986 as the lead-off single from the album '' On the Front Line''. The song went to number one on the ''Billboard A ...

", " I Will Be There", " Three Time Loser", " One Friend", " Addicted", " Big Wheels in the Moonlight", " Love on Arrival", and "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

". Five more of his singles also reached top ten on the same chart.

Background

Danny Wayland Seals was born in McCamey, Texas. Dan's childhood nickname of "England Dan" was given to him by his older brother Jim Seals (later of

). It was also Jim's idea to incorporate the name "England Dan" into England Dan & John Ford Coley. The nickname was a reference to the fact that, as a youngster, Dan had fixated on

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and briefly affected an English accent.

Collaboration with John Ford Coley

Dan joined with fellow W. W. Samuell High School classmate and longtime friend John Ford Coley to perform first as part of Dallas pop/psych group Southwest F.O.B. ('

Free On Board FOB (free on board) is a term in international commercial law specifying at what point respective obligations, costs, and risk involved in the delivery of goods shift from the seller to the buyer under the Incoterms standard published by the Inte ...

'), whose material has been re-released on CD by the Sundazed label, and then as the duo England Dan & John Ford Coley. In 1970 the latter were signed by A&M records, but a lack of US hits led to their being dropped two years later. Seals later recalled that this led to a period of severe financial challenge which ended only when the duo signed to Big Tree Records and had a run of six US Top 40 hits from the mid-1970s, beginning with " I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", the pair's biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in 1976 and becoming their only gold single. Their other hits include " Nights Are Forever Without You" (No. 10 in 1976–77); " It's Sad to Belong" (No. 21) and "Gone Too Far" (No. 23), both in 1977; " We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again" (No. 9 in 1978); and their last Top 40 hit, " Love Is the Answer" (No. 10 in May 1979). After seven LPs, they disbanded in 1980 and Seals reinvented himself as a solo country-pop artist, signing with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1980.

Solo career

When Seals signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1983 he shifted 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 ...

and began to record as Dan Seals. He initially struggled, but his voice and sentimental manner suited Nashville at a time when country music began to soften its rural styling. Seals's solo career began to turn around with the single " God Must Be a Cowboy,” the fourth and final single of his 1983 album ''

Rebel Heart ''Rebel Heart'' is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released by Interscope Records on March 6, 2015. She worked on the album throughout 2014, co-writing and co-producing it with various musicians, including Di ...

.'' The song peaked at No 10 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, becoming the first in a string of 16 consecutive top ten and number one singles that stretched to 1990. A 1985 duet with

, " Meet Me in Montana,” reached No 1 and Seals followed this with a run of eight chart-toppers. More hits followed, including his 11th country No 1 with a cover of Sam Cooke's "

" in 1990. Just as the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

market had changed radically in the 1980s, so did country music in the 1990s with the arrival of

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

's turbo-charged anthems. Seals devoted more time to his family and his religion, the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, though he continued to record and tour; he performed at the Baháʼí World Congress in 1992.

Albums

''Stones'' and ''Harbinger''

He kept the name England Dan for his debut album, ''

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

''. Although no single charted on the country chart, his first single ever as a solo artist "Late at Night" did peak at No. 57 on the US Hot 100. Otherwise, it was unsuccessful. His next album, '' Harbinger'', was unsuccessful commercially. None of its singles charted, and he turned his attention to

and adapted his style to fit country radio's demands while still keeping his signature soft sound. He signed to

in 1983.

''Rebel Heart''

1983's ''

'', his first album for Capitol, was much more successful than his first two albums. The first single, " Everybody's Dream Girl," peaked at No. 18. The next single "After You," however, charted lower, at No. 28. " You Really Go for the Heart" was even less successful, but still managed to crack the top 40, reaching No. 37. The album's last single, " God Must Be a Cowboy," was much more successful than the album's first three singles, becoming his first top 10 hit in early 1984, at No. 10. The album peaked at No. 40 on the country albums chart, his first album to enter

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

''San Antone''

His 1984 album '' San Antone'' was even more successful. " (You Bring Out) The Wild Side of Me," the album's first single, reached No. 9. The next single " My Baby's Got Good Timing" became his first Top 5, at No. 2. In early 1985, the album's third and final single " My Old Yellow Car" peaked at No. 9. This album peaked at No. 24 on the country albums chart.

''Won't Be Blue Anymore''

His 1985 album '' Won't Be Blue Anymore'' became his most successful studio album, reaching No. 1 on the country albums chart and earning

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

gold certification. " Meet Me in Montana," a duet with

, became his first No. 1 hit in 1985 and the first of nine straight Number Ones.Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits'', p.284. . Written by Paul Davis, the single won the artists the Vocal Duo of the Year Award at the CMA awards in 1986. The album's next single, " Bop," also co-written by Paul Davis, with Jennifer Kimball, became his first solo No. 1 and was named Single of the Year at 1986's CMA awards. After it came " Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)," about a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy having to cope with

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

hood (written by Seals and fellow Texan

Bob McDill Robert Lee McDill (born April 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s ...

''On the Front Line''

'' On the Front Line'' reached No. 12 on the country albums chart. The three singles from it all reached No. 1 in 1987: "

,” " I Will Be There," and " Three Time Loser.”

''The Best''

Dan Seals released his first compilation album '' The Best'' in 1987. All of the songs included on the album were top ten hits. The lone new track " One Friend," which was originally included on 1984's ''San Antone,'' was re-recorded for this collection and continued his No. 1 streak. The album peaked at No. 7 and was certified platinum.

''Rage On''

1988 saw the release of Dan Seals' '' Rage On'' album. The first single, " Addicted," not only became a No. 1 country hit but also got its writer, Cheryl Wheeler, a contract with Capitol Records in 1989. The next single, the truck driving song " Big Wheels in the Moonlight," was released in late 1988, and reached No. 1 in early 1989, becoming his ninth No. 1 single in a row. This streak was broken when the album's third and final single, " They Rage On," peaked at No. 5. The album peaked at No. 6, and is the second highest peaking of his albums.

''On Arrival''

Dan Seals began the 1990s with his eighth album, '' On Arrival''. The first single " Love on Arrival" reached No. 1 in 1990, and stayed there for three weeks. After it came a cover of the

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

standard "

." This cover was not only his last Number One, but also his last Top 40 hit, as the album's next two tracks ("Bordertown" and "Water Under the Bridge") failed to reach the top 40 in the United States, although they did in Canada.

''Greatest Hits''

Dan Seals' second compilation album, titled ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' was released in 1991. It contained his hits from the albums ''Won't Be Blue Anymore'', ''Rage On'', and ''On Arrival'', along with a new track, "Ball and Chain," which was not released as a single.

''Walking the Wire''

By this time, the country music landscape had changed abruptly, and Dan Seals found his style out of favor. He moved to

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

in 1991, and released '' Walking the Wire''. Only three of the five singles released from this album ("Sweet Little Shoe," "Mason Dixon Line," and "When Love Comes Around the Bend") actually charted, but none of them reached the top 40. One other single, "We Are One," failed to chart. Additionally, the album failed to crack the top country albums chart.

Later albums, career and death

Although Dan Seals was a touring artist for the rest of the 1990s, he did release a few more albums on smaller labels throughout the decade, such as '' Fired Up'' in 1994, his final album for Warner Bros. He signed to Intersound and released ''

In a Quiet Room ''In a Quiet Room'' is the eleventh album released by country music artist Dan Seals and his only album on the Intersound label. This album consists mostly of acoustic versions of songs featured on earlier albums, as well as two songs — " I'd R ...

'' in 1995, comprising acoustic versions of his earlier hits. He then switched to TDC and released ''

In a Quiet Room II ''In a Quiet Room II'' is the twelfth album released by country music artist Dan Seals and his only album on the TDC label. This album is his second album of acoustic versions of his older songs and a sequel to his previous album, ''In a Quiet R ...

'' in 1998, followed by ''Make It Home'' in 2002. In the early 2000s, Dan Seals embarked on various tours with his brother Jim (of Seals and Crofts), billing themselves as Seals & Seals, and performing their successful hits from Seals and Crofts and England Dan and John Ford Coley, Dan's hits from his solo career, and a few original songs written between the two brothers. A few shows featured Jim's sons Joshua on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Sutherland on electric guitar. The status of the original recordings is unknown. In 2008, Seals completed radiation treatments for cancer (

mantle cell lymphoma Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, comprising about 6% of cases. It is named for the mantle zone of the lymph nodes where it develops. The term 'mantle cell lymphoma' was first adopted by Raffe ...

) at

Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains a ...

and at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and received a stem cell transplant at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He died at the age of 61, on March 25, 2009, at his daughter's home in Nashville. Prior to Seals's death, he recorded two duets with

Juice Newton Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton; February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 198 ...

, for her 2010 release '' Duets: Friends & Memories,'' covering

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

's 1986 hit "

These Dreams "These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single ...

." Four years after Seals's death,

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

recorded Seals's composition "It's Gonna Be Easy Now." The track is featured as the closing number on Rogers's album '' You Can't Make Old Friends.''

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1980) *'' Harbinger'' (1982) *''

'' (1983) *'' San Antone'' (1984) *'' Won't Be Blue Anymore'' (1985) *'' On the Front Line'' (1986) *'' Rage On'' (1988) *'' On Arrival'' (1990) *'' Walking the Wire'' (1992) *'' Fired Up'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1998) *''Make It Home'' (2002)

Compilation albums

*'' The Best'' (1987) *''Portrait'' (1990) *''Early Dan Seals'' (1991) *''

'' (1991) *''The Best of Dan Seals'' (1994) *''Certified Hits'' (2001) *''The Best of Dan Seals'' (2005)

''Billboard'' number-one hits

*" Meet Me in Montana" with

(1 week, 1985) *" Bop" (1 week, 1986) *" Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" (1 week, 1986) *"

" (1 week, 1987) *" I Will Be There" (1 week, 1987) *" Three Time Loser" (1 week, 1987) *" One Friend" (1 week, 1988) *" Addicted" (1 week, 1988) *" Big Wheels in the Moonlight" (1 week, 1989) *" Love on Arrival" (3 weeks, 1990) *"

" (2 weeks, 1990)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

, - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, " Meet Me in Montana" , Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , , - ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, " Addicted" , Best Male Country Vocal Performance ,

American Music Awards

, - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, " Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" , Favorite Country Single ,

Music City News Country Awards

, - , rowspan=2,

, Dan Seals , Star of Tomorrow , , - , rowspan=2,

and Dan Seals , rowspan=2, Vocal Duo of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

, , - , " Bop" , Single of the Year ,

Academy of Country Music Awards

, - ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, Dan Seals , Top New Male Vocalist , , - ,

, Dan Seals and

, Top Vocal Duo of the Year , , - ,

, " Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" , Song of the Year ,

Country Music Association Awards

, - , rowspan=3,

, Dan Seals , Horizon Award , , - , " Bop" , Single of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Dan Seals and

, rowspan=2, Vocal Duo of the Year , , - ,

References

Bibliography

*Lomax III, John (1998). "Dan Seals". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 474–5.

External links

*
Obituary
in the

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seals, Dan 1948 births 2009 deaths American Bahá'ís American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American soft rock musicians Capitol Records artists Deaths from lymphoma in the United States Singer-songwriters from Texas England Dan & John Ford Coley members 20th-century Bahá'ís 21st-century Bahá'ís Deaths from cancer in Tennessee American country guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas People from McCamey, Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers