- Mel McDaniel
-
Mel McDaniel 
McDaniel in 2006. (Photo by Sisterphotography)Background information Born September 6, 1942
Checotah, OklahomaOrigin Okmulgee, Oklahoma Died March 31, 2011 (aged 68)
Nashville, TennesseeGenres Country Occupations Singer-songwriter Years active 1975-2011 Labels Capitol Associated acts Chuck Berry Mel McDaniel (September 6, 1942 – March 31, 2011[1]) was an American country music artist. His chart making years were mainly the 1980s and his hits from that era include "Louisiana Saturday Night", "Big Ole Brew", "Stand Up", the Number One "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On", "I Call It Love", "Stand on It", and a remake of Chuck Berry's "Let It Roll (Let It Rock)".
McDaniel's type of country music has been referred to as "the quintessential happy song" in comparison to other country artists who discuss broken hearts and lost loves. When asked why most of his songs are mostly positive, McDaniel told the Anchorage Daily News that "there's enough things in the world to keep you bummed out" and that his fans don't want to "hear me singing something that's gonna bum 'em out some more."[2]
Contents
Biography
Early life
Mel McDaniel was born in Checotah, Oklahoma, a small town in McIntosh County, Oklahoma. The son of a truck driving father, McDaniel grew up in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He was inspired to play music after seeing Elvis Presley on television. His first interest in music was when he learned the trumpet in the fourth grade, but he soon learned the guitar. At age 14, he taught himself the guitar chords to "Frankie and Johnny" and performed at a high-school talent contest. He made his professional debut at age fifteen performing in a talent contest at Okmulgee High School. While in high school, he played in several local bands, and after graduation, began working as a musician in Tulsa clubs. While in Tulsa, he recorded several singles for local label (J.J. Cale and wrote and produced his first single, “Lazy Me”. But he decided to leave Oklahoma.
Career
After marrying his high school sweetheart, McDaniel began performing in Tulsa. From there, he had an unsuccessful trip to Nashville, followed by quite a bit of success in Anchorage, Alaska performing in the Oil Fields. After two years there, he returned to Nashville and landed a job as a demo singer and songwriter with Combine Music. With the help of music publisher Bob Beckham, Mel signed to Capitol Records in 1976 and released his first single, “Have a Dream on Me”.
His career finally took off with “Louisiana Saturday Night” in 1981, and in early 1985 he scored his only #1 hit with "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On". Other Top 10 hits include "Right in the Palm of Your Hand" (later covered by Alan Jackson in 1999), "Take Me to the Country", "Big Ole Brew", "I Call It Love", and "Real Good Feel Good Song".
McDaniel was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since January 11, 1986 and made frequent appearances on the show.
McDaniel was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006, along with induction classmate Leon Russell.[3]
Later years and death
On November 14, 1996, he had a near-fatal fall into an orchestra pit while he was performing at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. This ended his touring career and he underwent several surgeries thereafter. McDaniel never recovered from his injuries. On June 16, 2009, McDaniel suffered a heart attack, putting him in a medically induced coma in a Nashville area hospital according to The Tennessean. Mel's wife, Peggy, requested the prayers of the singer's fans, saying his situation was "not good." [4] McDaniel was diagonsed with lung cancer on February 19, 2011, and he died at home on the evening of March 31, 2011 as a result of the disease.[5]
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions US Country 1977 Gentle to Your Senses - Release date: October 1977
- Label: Capitol Records
45 1978 Mello - Release date: July 17, 1978
- Label: Capitol Records
— 1980 I'm Countryfied - Release date: November 10, 1980
- Label: Capitol Records
24 1982 Take Me to the Country - Release date: April 5, 1982
- Label: Capitol Records
43 1983 Naturally Country - Release date: April 8, 1983
- Label: Capitol Records
63 1984 Mel McDaniel with Oklahoma Wind - Release date: February 17, 1984
- Label: Capitol Records
64 1985 Let It Roll - Release date: February 22, 1985
- Label: Capitol Records
4 Stand Up - Release date: September 13, 1985
- Label: Capitol Records
25 1986 Just Can't Sit Down Music - Release date: September 19, 1986
- Label: Capitol Records
— 1988 Now You're Talkin' - Release date: January 13, 1988
- Label: Capitol Records
51 1989 Rock-a-billy Boy - Release date: January 11, 1989
- Label: Capitol Records
— 1991 Country Pride - Release date: May 13, 1991
- Label: DPI Records
— 2006 Reloaded - Release date: April 25, 2006
- Label: Stand UP / Aspirion Records
— "—" denotes releases that did not chart Compilation albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions US Country 1987 Greatest Hits - Release date: June 19, 1987
- Label: Capitol Records
43 1993 Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On - Release date: July 7, 1993
- Label: Branson Records
— "—" denotes releases that did not chart Singles
Year Title Chart Positions Album US Country CAN Country 1975 "Lazy Me" — — Singles only 1976 "Have a Dream on Me" 51 — "I Thank God She Isn't Mine" 70 — 1977 "All the Sweet" 39 — "Gentle to Your Senses" 18 — Gentle to Your Senses "Soul of a Honky Tonk Woman" 27 — "God Made Love" 11 12 1978 "The Farm" 80 — Mello "Bordertown Woman" 26 56 1979 "Love Lies" 33 38 Singles only "Play Her Back to Yesterday" 24 23 "Lovin' Starts Where Friendship Ends" 27 39 1980 "Hello Daddy, Good Morning Darling" 39 — I'm Countryfied "Countryfied" 23 — 1981 "Louisiana Saturday Night" 7 21 "Right in the Palm of Your Hand" 10 17 "Preaching Up a Storm" 19 37 Take Me to the Country 1982 "Take Me to the Country" 10 22 "Big Ole Brew" 4 4 "I Wish I Was in Nashville" 20 — 1983 "Old Man River (I've Come to Talk Again)" 22 31 Naturally Country "Hot Time in Old Town Tonight" 39 — "I Call It Love" 9 29 Mel McDaniel with Oklahoma Wind 1984 "Where'd That Woman Go" 49 — "Most of All I Remember You" 59 — "All Around the Water Tank" 64 — "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" 1 1 Let It Roll 1985 "Let It Roll (Let It Rock)" 6 6 "Stand Up" 5 3 Stand Up 1986 "Shoe String" 22 18 "Doctor's Orders" 53 47 "Stand on It" 12 5 Just Can't Sit Down Music 1987 "Oh What a Night" 56 — "Anger & Tears" 49 32 Greatest Hits "Love Is Everywhere" 60 57 "Now You're Talkin'" 64 42 Now You're Talkin' 1988 "Ride This Train" 58 — "Real Good Feel Good Song" 9 4 "Henrietta" 62 * 1989 "Walk That Way" 54 * Rock-a-Billy Boy "Blue Suede Shoes" 70 68 "You Can't Play the Blues
(In an Air-Conditioned Room)"80 57 2006 "Horseshoes & Hand Grenades" — — Reloaded Music videos
Year Video Director 1985 "Let It Roll (Let It Rock)" George Bloom "Stand Up" 1988 "Real Good Feel Good Song" Kenneth Brown "Henrietta" George Bloom "Goodbye Johnny" 1990 "Turtles and Rabbits" 1991 "My Ex-Life" Carolyn Betts References
- ^ Grand Ole Opry Member Mel McDaniel Dies
- ^ Perala, Andrew (19 October 1989). "Good Ol' Boy". Anchorage Daily News. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tIIgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R8AEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2818,1429291&dq=mel+mcdaniel+real+good+feel+good+song&hl=en. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame - Mel McDaniel
- ^ Country Weekly Magazine
- ^ http://www.theboot.com/2011/04/01/mel-mcdaniel-dead/
- Millard, Bob (1998). "Mel McDaniel". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 337.
External links
Categories:- 1942 births
- 2011 deaths
- People from McIntosh County, Oklahoma
- American country singers
- American male singers
- Grand Ole Opry members
- Musicians from Oklahoma
- Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees
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