Dan Seals (February 9, 1948 - March 25, 2009) was an American contemporary rock and country music singer-songwriter, who first rose to fame as one half of 1970s duo England Dan & John Ford Coley (best known for their 1976 hit "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"). Seals abandoned the "England Dan" nickname when he and Coley split, and embarked on a second career as a country music singer in 1983. Using the lessons he'd learned from the Soft Rock genre, Seals became known for a highly produced sound and his strong tenor voice, which helped him chart eleven number one hits over the next seven years.
Unfortunately, changes for country music were right around the corner: just as the soft rock of the late 70s had been overtaken by genres such as new wave, Seals brand of smooth country began to fall out of favor with the rise of more rock-inspired artists such as Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt. Seals shifted to mostly being a touring musician, though he recorded several more albums, and toured with his brother Jim as "Seals and Seals", performing songs from each of their previous groups.
Seals was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma in 2008, and despite receiving treatment, passed away at his daughter Holly's home on March 25, 2009.
His older brother Jim Seals was also part of a notable '70s duo, Seals and Crofts, who released the 1972 hit "Summer Breeze".
Albums
- Stones (1980)
- Harbinger (1982)
- Rebel Heart (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)
- In a Quiet Room (1995)
- In a Quiet Room II (1998)
- Make It Home (2002)
Tropes present in his work:
- The Alleged Car: The subject of "My Old Yellow Car"She weren't much to look at, she weren't much to ride
She was missing a window on her passenger side
The floorboard was patched up with paper and tar
But I really was something in my old yellow car - All That Glitters: The subject of "Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)", a single-minded rodeo star who abandoned her husband and daughter to focus on her career.But, oh some times I think about you, and the way you used to ride out
In your rhinestones and your sequins, with the sunlight on your hair
And though the crowd will always love you, as for me, I've come to know
Everything that glitters is not gold. - Earn Your Happy Ending: Seals became a member of the Baha'i religion in the mid-70s, and this thought is evident in his later songs, such as "They Rage On".And they rage on
somehow searching for the answers
In the night like shadow dancers
Before their time is gone, they rage on - Generation Xerox: "They Rage On" tells the story of two couples: one a pair of young Star-Crossed Lovers, the other two adults having an affair, each using intimacy to cope with sadness.
- The Lad-ette: The narrator of "Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" is a rodeo rider, whose ex-wife is also a rodeo rider, and far more successful than him.
- Let's Duet: His first country #1, "Meet Me in Montana", was a duet with Marie Osmond.
- Location Song: "Meet Me in Montana"
- Rock Star Song: Country, but one of the narrators of "Meet Me in Montana" is an aspiring songwriter who isn't having any success in Nashville and is on the verge of giving up.
- Unplugged Version: Two of Seals' final three albums were mostly-acoustic re-recordings of prior hits.
