Danny's Song Explained
Danny's Song should not be confused with Annie's Song.
"Danny's Song" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, as a gift for his brother Danny for the birth of his son, Colin. It first appeared on an album by Gator Creek[1] and a year later on the album Sittin' In, the debut album by Loggins and Messina. The song is well remembered for both the Loggins and Messina original, as well as for Anne Murray's 1972 top-ten-charting cover.
Loggins and Messina version
In 1971, Loggins and Jim Messina released Sittin' In and, although the album yielded no Top 40 radio hits, "Danny's Song" received a significant amount of radio airplay. Loggins wrote the song for his brother, Danny Loggins, in 1966 as a senior in high school, when Danny became the father of a boy named Colin – his first son.[2]
"Danny's Song" was included as the B-side of one of their early single releases, "Nobody But You" (U.S. No. 86, 1972). Loggins and Messina would achieve chart success in 1973 with their song "Your Mama Don't Dance", but their version of "Danny's Song" remains one of their best-known songs through the frequent airplay it received on rock and adult contemporary radio stations.[2]
Personnel
Anne Murray version
Canadian country-pop music singer Anne Murray was a fan of the original recording and recorded a cover version in 1972. Her version of the song omits two of the lyric verses and is in a different key than the original version by Loggins & Messina. Included on her album of the same name, Murray's version of "Danny's Song" was a hit, reaching the Top 10 on three major Billboard music charts in early 1973. On the pop chart, the song reached number seven (returning Murray to that chart's top ten for the first time since 1970's "Snowbird");[3] on the country chart, it peaked at number ten;[2] and on the easy listening chart, it spent two weeks at number one in March of that year.[2] Murray's version also earned her a Grammy Award nomination in the category Best Female Pop Vocal performance at the Grammy Awards of 1974, losing out to "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack. Murray stated that she loved the original version, but the song took on a deeper meaning for her after the birth of her first child a few years later. In an interview, she stated that "Whenever I was singing that song, it was very meaningful."[2]
Murray covered the song a second time on her 2007 album Duets: Friends & Legends as a duet with Martina McBride.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
| Chart (1972–1973) | Peak
position |
|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles[4] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks[5] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks[6] | 1 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[7] | 6 | |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1973) | Rank |
|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[8] | 14 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 37 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 45 |
| US Cash Box[11] | 25 |
|
Other covers
- The song was covered by punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Have a Ball.[12] This cover is played over the closing credits of the pilot episode of the TV show Raising Hope.
- The song was covered by Tift Merritt on the 2010 album See You on the Moon.
- The song was covered by Tim and Nicki Bluhm by their band Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers on their 2008 album, Toby's Song.
- The song was covered by Canadian jazz artist Elizabeth Shepherd on her 2010 album Heavy Falls The Night.
- The song was covered by Matthew Morrison and Jayma Mays during the fifth season of the television show Glee.[13]
- The song was performed by actress Martha Plimpton (as Virginia Chance) in the pilot episode of the show Raising Hope as a lullaby to her granddaughter. This touching moment became a theme for the program, which was revisited in season four, in the series finale, when Loggins himself appeared to sing it at Virginia's wedding.
- In 2010, Beccy Cole recorded a version for her album, Preloved.
- The song was performed by The Swon Brothers twice on season 4 of The Voice (U.S.).[14] Their version charted on the Billboard Hot 100 (#66), Canadian Hot 100 (#53), and Hot Country Songs (#16).[15]
- The Murray version of the song was sampled by producer John Frusciante & rap group Black Knights on the song "Never Let Go", on their 2014 album, Medieval Chamber.[16] On their 2022-23 World Tour, Frusciante would perform a portion of Danny's Song at two sold-out Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts, in Boston and Melbourne. [17] [18]
- The song was covered by Marianne Nowottny and Her All American Band on their 2018 album Studio Recordings 2008–2018.[19]
Notes and References
- News: Recording: Danny's Song . Second Hand Songs . December 5, 2012.
- Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- [Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]
- Web site: RPM Adult Contemporary for March 17, 1973 . RPM . October 11, 2010.
- Web site: RPM Country Tracks for January 27, 1973 . RPM . October 11, 2010.
- Web site: RPM Adult Contemporary for January 20, 1973 . RPM . October 11, 2010.
- Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 14, 1973 . October 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160322041822/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19730414.html . March 22, 2016 . dead .
- Web site: Image : RPM Weekly. Library and Archives. Canada. . July 8, 2017.
- http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm Musicoutfitters.com
- Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1973. Billboard. July 28, 2021.
- Web site: Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1973 . October 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140715135835/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html . July 15, 2014 . dead .
- Web site: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes :: Have A Ball – Records: Fat Wreck Chords . Fatwreck.com . October 3, 2016.
- Web site: Facebook . Glee The Music . October 3, 2016.
- Web site: Danny's Song (The Voice Performance) – Single by The Swon Brothers. iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. October 8, 2014.
- [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=The Swon Brothers|chart=all}} The Swon Brothers Album & Song Chart History]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 8, 2014.
- Web site: John Frusciante . John Frusciante . October 3, 2013. October 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160916143126/http://johnfrusciante.com/article/never-let-go . September 16, 2016 . dead .
- Web site: John Frusciante Sing's Danny's Song 2022 . Red Hot Chili Peppers . September 11, 2022.
- Web site: Red Hot Chili Peppers Setlist at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne . 2023-02-09 . setlist.fm . en.
- Web site: Marianne Nowottny and Her All American Band: "Studio Recordings 2008–2018". 2018. CD Baby. October 30, 2018.
