Danny's Song

"Danny's Song"
Song by Loggins and Messina
from the album Sittin' In
ReleasedNovember 1971
Recorded1971
GenreFolk rock
Length4:16
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Kenny Loggins
Producer(s)Jim Messina

"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

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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

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Anne Murray version

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"Danny's Song"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album Danny's Song
B-side"Drown Me"
ReleasedDecember 23, 1972
GenreCountry
Length3:03
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Kenny Loggins
Producer(s)Brian Ahern
Anne Murray singles chronology
"Robbie's Song for Jesus"
(1972)
"Danny's Song"
(1972)
"What About Me"
(1973)

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

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Weekly charts

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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 Hot 100[7] 7
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 10
US Billboard Easy Listening 1
US Cash Box Top 100[9] 6

Year-end charts

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Chart (1973) Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles[10] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 37
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 45
US Cash Box[13] 25

Other covers

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References

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  1. ^ "Recording: Danny's Song". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  4. ^ "RPM Adult Contemporary for March 17, 1973". RPM. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  5. ^ "RPM Country Tracks for January 27, 1973". RPM. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  6. ^ "RPM Adult Contemporary for January 20, 1973". RPM. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  7. ^ "Anne Murray Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Anne Murray Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 14, 1973". Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  10. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 8, 2017). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
  11. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  12. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1973". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1973". Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes :: Have A Ball – Records: Fat Wreck Chords". Fatwreck.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  15. ^ "Facebook". Glee The Music. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  16. ^ "Danny's Song (The Voice Performance) – Single by The Swon Brothers". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  17. ^ "The Swon Brothers Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  18. ^ "John Frusciante". John Frusciante. October 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  19. ^ "John Frusciante Sing's Danny's Song 2022". Red Hot Chili Peppers. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Setlist at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne". setlist.fm. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  21. ^ "Marianne Nowottny and Her All American Band: "Studio Recordings 2008–2018"". CD Baby. 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
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