Danny Flowers

Last updated

Danny Flowers
Danny Flowers playing guitar, April, 2022.jpg
Danny Flowers, April, 2022
Background information
Birth nameDaniel Wayne Flowers
Born (1948-08-16) August 16, 1948 (age 75)
Henderson, North Carolina
Genres
Occupation(s)Songwriter, musician, producer
Instrument(s) Guitar, vocals, slide guitar, harmonica, dobro
Years active1970–present

Daniel W. "Danny" Flowers (born 1948) is an American songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist based in Nashville. He is known for creating songs that became hits for other artists. His best-known song is "Tulsa Time" recorded by Don Williams which became the number one U.S. Billboard country song of 1979. It was later recorded by Eric Clapton to reach number 30 on Billboard pop charts. Flowers' other songs written for Don Williams include "Back in My Younger Days", "Señorita", and "To Be Your Man". He co-wrote "Gulf Coast Highway", recorded by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Nanci Griffith. Emmylou Harris' 1975 album, Pieces of the Sky derives its title from a Flowers lyric in his included song, "Before Believing". His music has roots in the blues genre. His skill as a session musician guitarist distinguishes him from most of Nashville's other songwriters. [1]

Contents

Early life

Flowers was born and raised in Henderson, North Carolina. [2] His father was a mortician who owned the Flowers Funeral Home in Henderson; the family lived in an apartment above the business. [2] Flowers played high school football and was in a band that played after the games. [3] He got his first guitar at age 17 and it became his primary inspiration for songwriting. [2] He said, "Hardly anyone in my family supported me wanting to be a musician". [4] His musical roots were in blues music. Flowers moved to Virginia Beach in 1968 after dropping out of school to perform on the blues and folk circuit, primarily as a harmonica player. [5] He became proficient on slide guitar, dobro, and harmonica. [2]

He moved to Nashville in the early 1970s and was signed by Wesley Rose to a publishing deal with Acuff-Rose. [5] One of his first road tours was performing with Dobie Gray when Gray's song "Drift Away" was a hit single. [5] He worked for producer Jack Clement and made demos for another writer, Don Williams. [5] As Williams' commercial success took off, Williams hired Flowers to tour with him. Flowers said, “It was a wonderful experience.. . For five years, it was just a three-piece band... Don played guitar, we had a bass player, and I played electric guitar". [5] The result was Flowers/Williams' successful 13 year musical association. [3]

Flowers was living on Nashville's Blakemore Avenue, sharing the rent with singer Rodney Crowell and Chis Leuzinger. [6] : 59  In her book, They Came to Nashville, Marshall Chapman recalled spending time with Flowers in that house listening to records and analyzing songs by various artists. [6] The two were both performing separately in local clubs at the time. Chapman became a fan of Emmylou Harris' songs sung with Gram Parsons and was then surprised to learn that Flowers had had one of his songs, "Before Believing" recorded by Harris and that one of his lyrics became the album's title (" Pieces of the Sky "). [6] She credited Flowers with telling her that she must learn to write songs to be successful in music. [7]

Writing "Tulsa Time"

In September, 1978, Flowers and the Don Williams band members were staying at a Sheraton Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A snowstorm had caused an interruption of their schedule. [4] Flowers said, "We were all snowed in, and there was absolutely nothing to do. I was sitting there in my room, watching ‘The Rockford Files’ with some hotel stationery beside me, just bored, and I started writing out some verses”. [8] He spent only a half-hour on it and the song had only two chords. Flowers said he intended to add another chord later, "but Don heard it and liked it the way it was." [3]

About two months later, Flowers was performing with Don Williams in Nashville as the opening act for an Eric Clapton concert. [4] After the performance, Flowers and Williams went to Clapton's hotel room where the three men took turns playing songs. Flowers sang and played guitar on his new song, "Tulsa Time" with Williams singing harmony and Clapton playing slide guitar on a dobro. [4] Clapton said, "I love that song and I want to record it right away". [4] Williams said, "You can't record it— I'm going to record it". [4] Both artists recorded the song, but Williams was first.

Don Williams' recording went to number one on the country singles chart, [8] and became the number one Billboard country song of 1979. [9] : 142  Clapton released two versions of the song and the second, a 1980 live recording reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. [8] [9] : 142 

Other projects

Flowers has been a session musician for Williams, Griffith, Vince Gill, Marshall Chapman, George Hamilton IV and Dobie Gray, as well as having toured with Williams, Gill, the Sweethearts of the Rodeo, the McCrary Sisters and others. In 1982, he recorded an album for MCA as a lead vocalist, recording with Don Williams' band members whom they called the "Scratch Band". Williams arranged for his band members to make an album of their own. It was entitled "The Scratch Band featuring Danny Flowers ". Flowers wrote or co-wrote all the tracks. [5] It included Pat McInerney, Biff Watson and Dave Pomeroy. [10] : 132  Flowers' demonstrated his skill on the harmonica in this band. [11] : 156  He left Williams in 1985 and later played with Nanci Griffith, Aaron Tippin, and Russell Smith. [3] While with Griffith, he created the "Blue Moon Orchestra" as her backing band. [2]

Flowers' album, Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables was released in 2000; it included some rocking blues and many of his songs that had been covered by other artists including "Tulsa Time", "Before Believing" and his version of "Pacific Coast Highway" which he co-wrote with Nancy Griffith and James Hooker. [2]

Music reviewer Dennis Reed pointed out that Flowers' physical appearance on the album cover of the "Forbidden" album was quite different from that on his next album in 2007,Tools for the Soul . [2] The Forbidden album showed a much thinner Flowers with short hair, wearing a dark suit with a business look. The later Food for the Soul album cover revealed long hippie hair, some added pounds, and a full beard. [2] In a 2014 documentary by The Songwriter(Nashville), Flowers was forthright in discussing that had suffered from chemical dependency but now had decades of sobriety. [4] From his Tools for the Soul album, "I Was a Burden" was a story of how dependency can be turned around. [2] The song was recorded by the Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Lee Ann Womack.

In late 2014, Flowers began work on a new record at RCA Studio A titled "Anytime, Anywhere, Everywhere" for release later in 2015. As of 2021, he is involved in making an R & B Gospel album called "The Truth Don't Lie" with his wife, Gospel artist Mabel Pleasure Flowers who plays a Hammond B-3. The two met in 2018 at a party at the home of fellow musician, Keb' Mo. [12]

Discography


Songs written

  • Anytime, Anywhere, Everywhere
  • At the Open Door
  • Back in My Younger Days
  • Be Still My Heart
  • Before Believing
  • Born to Believe
  • Breaking Point
  • Everything Is Alright/Tulsa Time Reprise (with James Pennebaker)
  • Free of That Today
  • Gulf Coast Highway (with Nanci Griffith & James Hooker)
  • Hang Around the House and Cry
  • I Was a Burden
  • I'm Holding On
  • I've Had My Way Long Enough
  • Jesus I Can't Hear Your Voice Today
  • Keep on Livin'
  • Nervous
  • Off the Deep End
  • Poor Bob
  • Prayer Song (feat. Emmylou Harris)
  • Read On
  • Ready
  • Ready to Cross Over
  • Reason to Try
  • Rededicating My Love to You
  • Señorita
  • Still Ain't Out of the Woods
  • Tennessee Hideaway
  • The Lord's Not Though Using Me Yet
  • Till This Feeling Goes Away
  • To Be Your Man
  • Today I Choose to Shine
  • Tools for the Soul (feat. Emmylou Harris)
  • Tulsa Time
  • UnGodly
  • What Would the Father Say
  • World Enough and Time
  • You Are

Albums


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Miller</span> American singer-songwriter

Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanci Griffith</span> American singer-songwriter (1953–2021)

Nanci Caroline Griffith was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program Austin City Limits starting in 1985. In 1994 she won a Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Lee</span> English musician

Albert William Lee is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also maintained a solo career and is a noted composer and musical director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Wolf</span> American singer-songwriter

Kate Wolf was an American folk singer and songwriter. Though her career was relatively short, she had a significant impact on the folk music scene. Her best-known compositions include "Here in California", "Love Still Remains", "Across the Great Divide", "Unfinished Life", “Green Eyes” and "Give Yourself to Love". She recorded six albums as a solo artist. She was elected to the NAIRD Independent Music Hall of Fame in 1987. Her songs have since been recorded by Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Raphael</span> Musical artist

Michael Siegfried Raphael is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973.

<i>Homegrown</i> (Neil Young album) 2020 studio album by Neil Young

Homegrown is the 40th studio album by Canadian-American Neil Young. It was released on June 19, 2020, by Reprise Records. The album consists of material recorded between June 1974 and January 1975. The album was recorded after the release of On the Beach and before the sessions for Zuma. Like those two albums, much of the material was inspired by Young's relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress, which was deteriorating in 1974. The album was compiled and prepared for release in 1975. Instead, Tonight's the Night was released in its place, and Homegrown remained unreleased for decades. It was finally set for release as part of Record Store Day 2020, amid Neil Young's ongoing Archives campaign. Its release was again delayed by Record Store Day's postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finally seeing release on June 19.

<i>Other Voices, Other Rooms</i> (Nanci Griffith album) 1993 studio album by Nanci Griffith

Other Voices, Other Rooms is the tenth studio album by American singer Nanci Griffith. It was released on March 2, 1993, by Elektra Records. Her first since leaving MCA Records, it consisted entirely of cover songs, in tribute to songwriters who influenced her own songwriting. Guest artists who appear in their own compositions included Frank Christian playing guitar on "Three Flights Up", Bob Dylan playing harmonica on "Boots of Spanish Leather", and John Prine lending harmony vocals on "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness". The album was titled after the Truman Capote novel of the same name.

<i>Winter Marquee</i> 2002 live album by Nanci Griffith

Winter Marquee is a live album by folk singer Nanci Griffith. It was her first album for Rounder Records after leaving Elektra Records. Recorded live during the Clock Without Hands tour in spring 2002, this album grew from the original wish to capture just one live song into a 14-track live CD album, Griffith's first live recording since One Fair Summer Evening (1988). On May 29, 2002, at the historic Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, a live performance was filmed, and released on DVD under the same name. During the recording of both the album and the DVD, Griffith was joined on stage by Emmylou Harris, Tom Russell and Andrew Hardin.

<i>Flyer</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Nanci Griffith

Flyer was the eleventh studio album released by singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith. Released in 1994, it contained 15 tracks, mostly of original material. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. The album had contributions from Peter Buck, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton, Adam Duritz, the Chieftains and the Indigo Girls.

Terry Lee McMillan was an American country music singer, harmonica player, and percussionist. In 1973, he became a member of Eddy Raven's band in Nashville, and worked with Raven until 1974. McMillan then started working with Chet Atkins, playing harmonica with his touring show. Later, he toured with Jerry Reed and Jeannie C. Riley before becoming a very in-demand session musician. In the 1970s, McMillan appeared on many albums, including the recordings of Mickey Newbury and Gary Stewart. He was also featured many times on Trinity Broadcasting in the 1990s.

<i>Starry, Starry Night</i> (album) 2001 live album by Don McLean

Starry, Starry Night is a live album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released in 2001. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, at The Paramount Theatre on November 2, 1999, as part of a PBS special called Don McLean, Starry, Starry Night.

Paul Kennerley is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry.

Richard Gove Scrivenor is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Scrivenor is an autoharp and guitar player, and includes the instrument in many of his songs. He plays predominantly country and folk music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emory Gordy Jr.</span> Musical artist

Emory Lee Gordy Jr. is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom he has been married since 1989. Gordy has produced and played bass guitar on nearly all of her albums, in addition to producing albums by Steve Earle, George Jones, and Alabama.

<i>Dublin Blues</i> 1995 studio album by Guy Clark

Dublin Blues is an album by the American singer-songwriter Guy Clark, released in 1995. Clark promoted the album by touring with son, Travis, as his bass player. It has recently been remastered (2023) and an extra track has been discovered. It will hopefully be released soon.

<i>Friends of Mine</i> (Ramblin Jack Elliott album) 1998 studio album by Ramblin Jack Elliott

Friends of Mine is an album by American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsa Time</span> 1978 single by Don Williams

"Tulsa Time" is a song written by Danny Flowers, and recorded by American country music artist Don Williams. It was released in October 1978 as the first single from the album Expressions. It was Williams' eighth number one on the country chart, spending a single week at number one and eleven weeks in the top 40. It was also recorded by Eric Clapton for his 1978 album Backless and a live version by Clapton from his album Just One Night became a #30 Billboard hit in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Lancio</span> Musical artist

Doug Lancio is a guitarist and record producer, based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has worked with a wide range of artists including John Hiatt, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin and Bob Dylan.

James Hooker is an American keyboard player, singer/songwriter and composer.

Philip Donnelly was a guitarist, songwriter and producer born in Clontarf, Dublin. Known as the Clontarf Cowboy, he gained international recognition touring and recording with artists such as the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Donovan.

References

  1. ↑ Cooper, Peter (May 28, 2001). "Today's Hot Spots: Our Picks". The Tennessean (Nashville). 97 (148): 5D. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Reed, Dennis Roger. "CD Reviews: Danny Flowers—Tools for the Soul". folkworks.org. Shapiro. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Danny Flowers song Blossoms". The Tennessean (Nashville). 86 (249): 38. October 14, 1990. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pedraza, Esteban; Pryka, Aaron. "Episode 3: The Songwriter (Nashville), Season 1". youtube.com. Movie Time Picture Company and HouseKopp Management. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Danny Flowers – Vine ripened". nodepression.com. The Journal of Roots Music. January 1, 2001. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Chapman, Marshall (2010). They Came To Nashville. Nashville: Country Music Foundation Press. p. 59. ISBN   9780826517357 . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ Chapman, Marshall (2012). Goodbye, little rock and roller (2nd ed.). Nashville, Tenn.: Tallgirl.com. p. ebook, Chapter 3. ISBN   9780984809004 . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Smith, Michael (September 8, 2020). "'Tulsa Time': A classic song 30 minutes in the making turns 40 years old". Tulsa World. e–edition. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Lindblad, Elven (2019). Tulsa Sounds: Celebrating the City's Musical Heritage. p. 142. ISBN   9780999122334 . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ Tuber, Keith (July 1982). "The Gentle Giant of Country—Don Williams". Orange Coast Magazine (July, 1982): 132–133. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Krampert, Peter (2000). The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. Pacific, Missouri: MelBay. pp. 60, 156. ISBN   9781619115774 . Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  12. ↑ Havighurst, Craig (February 13, 2020). "On The String: The Good News From Marcus Finnie And Mabel Pleasure". WMOT.org. WMOT American Roots Public Radio. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.