Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful US hit, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown group the Supremes, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Baby Got Back" is a song written, co-produced and recorded by American rapper and songwriter Sir Mix-a-Lot. Released in May 1992 by Def American and Reprise as the second single from his third album, Mack Daddy (1992), the song samples the 1986 Detroit techno single "Technicolor" by Channel One. At the time of its original release, the song caused controversy because of its outspoken and blatantly sexual lyrics objectifying women, as well as specific references to the buttocks, which some people found objectionable. The song's accompanying music video was briefly banned by MTV. Mix-a-Lot defended the song as being empowering to curvaceous women who were being shown skinny models as an ideal for beauty.
"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song entered the Billboard Top 40 on January 11, 1986, and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. It also became a top five hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart; it was his only top 10 single in the UK. It was his first Top 40 hit in ten years on the US pop charts, and it would also be his last. In 1987, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and won Brown a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance with music by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics by Keith Forsey and the song's performer, Irene Cara. The song spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts around the world. It was awarded Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of one million copies and won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song and earned Cara the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2023, the song was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.
"Chain Reaction" is a song by American singer Diana Ross, released on November 12, 1985 by RCA and Capitol, as the second single from her sixteenth studio album, Eaten Alive (1985). The song was written by the Bee Gees and contains additional vocals from Barry Gibb. Sonically, "Chain Reaction" is an R&B and dance-pop song. According to the Gibbs' biography, the brothers had initial reservations about offering the song to Ross in case it was too Motown-like for her.
"Free Ride" is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by the Edgar Winter Group from their 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night, produced by Rick Derringer. The single was a top 15 U.S. hit in 1973, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on Cash Box. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.
"Step by Step" is a song recorded by Whitney Houston, originally written and recorded by Annie Lennox. The song appeared on the B-side to Lennox's 1992 single "Precious". Whitney Houston released a reworked crossover R&B/pop cover version in 1996 on the soundtrack to the film The Preacher's Wife. Houston's version replaces Lennox's verses with new lyrics and omits portions of the bridge. Annie Lennox provides backing vocals for Houston's rendition.
"Word Up!" is a funk and R&B song originally recorded by American funk band Cameo in 1986. It was released as the first single from their thirteenth album of the same name. The song was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins. Its frequent airing on American dance, R&B, and contemporary hit radio, as well as its MTV music video, helped the single become the band's best known hit.
Bill Wray is an American musician, composer and producer. His performing career spanned the mid-1970s through the early 1980s. Since then he has written and produced a variety of artists from glam metal to cajun. He is the brother of fellow musician/composer Jim Wray.
Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter and record producer and the founder of Midnight Production House. He has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face".
One Night of Sin is the twelfth studio album by English singer Joe Cocker, released by Capitol Records in June 1989. It contains the hit single "When the Night Comes", which was Cocker's last US Top 40 hit and played at the end credits of Tom Selleck's crime drama An Innocent Man of that same year. The song is also notable because it was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. In addition, the former plays rhythm guitar on the song. Other notable songs on the album include a cover of "One Night", a #1 hit by Elvis Presley from 1958, and "I'm Your Man" by Leonard Cohen. The album also features "Another Mind Gone", which was the first album track in thirteen years co-written by Cocker— in the interim, he had also received songwriting credits for the songs “We Stand Alone” and “Now That You’re Gone”. “Another Mind Gone” was dedicated to B. J. Wilson, Cocker's former bandmate and a friend.
"I Can Dream About You" is a song written and performed by American singer Dan Hartman on the soundtrack album of the film Streets of Fire. Released in 1984 as a single from the soundtrack, and included on Hartman's album I Can Dream About You, it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Gravity is the 53rd studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released on September 15, 1986, by Scotti Bros. Records. It was largely written and produced by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, the authors of the album's previously released hit single "Living in America", which had reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was prominently featured in the film Rocky IV. It was Brown's first album for the Scotti Brothers record label.
Ross Shor Lynch is an American actor and singer. He was the lead vocalist of the pop rock band R5 and is one half of the band the Driver Era. As an actor, he rose to recognition for his debut role as Austin Moon on Disney Channel's comedy television series Austin & Ally (2011–2016) and for his role as Brady in the network's musical films Teen Beach Movie (2013) and its sequel Teen Beach 2 (2015).
"Don't You Want My Love" is a 1985/1986 hit song by Nicole McCloud under her mononym Nicole. The song was written by Aldo Nova and became a hit in several European countries and charted on the Billboard dance chart (#10) and R&B chart (#66) in the US.
I Can Dream About You is the fifth studio album from American musician/singer/songwriter Dan Hartman, released on May 3, 1984, by MCA. The album was produced by Hartman and Jimmy Iovine.
White Boy is the sixth studio album from American musician/singer/songwriter Dan Hartman. It was recorded during 1985 and 1986 but remains unreleased.
"Get Outta Town" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Dan Hartman, which was released in 1985 as a single from the soundtrack to the film Fletch. "Get Outta Town" was written by Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and produced by Hartman and Richard Landis.
"What About Love" is a song by American band 'Til Tuesday, which was released in 1986 as the lead single from their second studio album Welcome Home. The song was written by Aimee Mann and produced by Rhett Davies. "What About Love" peaked at No. 26 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
