The Early Days
Even before I’d released my first album in 1975, international performers were expressing interest in my songs. In 1972, when I was signed to RCA as a recording artist, I was introduced to label mate Jose Feliciano at a party in Toronto. I played Mr. Feliciano a song I’d just written, called “The Seed of Music,” which he fell in love with. He asked me to mail my demo of the song to his home address in America, along with any others I felt he might want to include on future recordings. But because I was “hoarding” my songs for my own artistic career, I didn’t follow through on Mr. Feliciano’s generous offer, although British jazz great Cleo Laine recorded “The Seed of Music” in 1973. (My music publisher at the time, had sent my song to Cleo Laine without my knowledge) The song was never included on any of Laine’s albums, but Ms. Laine more than made it up to me six years later, when she recorded “Sometimes When We Touch” as the title track of her ’79 release.
Shortly after singing for Jose Feliciano, I was flown to Manhattan to meet with Harry Belafonte; he had heard one of my demo tapes when performing at Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre (later renamed the Hummingbird Centre and now reborn as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts). Belafonte had long been a generous mentor to up-and-coming singers, and I’ll always treasure his encouragement. I remember when I sat, agog, in his Manhattan office, while he blasted my songs from his speakers at full volume and sang along with unabashed gusto. Mr. Belafonte was particularly impressed with a song I’d written in the summer of ’73, titled “You Make Me Want to Be (a Father).” I wasn’t willing to give even him an exclusive on that song, however, as I considered it my best song at the time. In fact, I was convinced that it would eventually break my musical career wide open. And, as fate would have it, “You Make Me Want to Be” became my first big single in Canada, ensuring the success of my debut album and laying the groundwork for my future international singing career.
Dan the mid 70’s recording artist
Once my debut album, Dan Hill, was released in 1975, I concentrated solely on my own singing and recording career. Any cover versions of my songs simply came from people hearing my records on the radio or playing them on their living-room stereos. Although some of my songs—such as “You Say You’re Free” and “Hold On” (from my first and second albums, respectively)—were cut by several artists, “Sometimes When We Touch” (which I co-wrote with legendary songwriter Barry Mann) turned into the “mother of all covers.” It enjoyed renditions by singers from every continent, in every style, and was translated into several languages. Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Tammy Wynette, Lynne Anderson, Donny Osmond, Rodney Crowell and Roseanne Cash are only a few of the artists who have covered it.
Despite this interest from other artists, I remained fixated throughout the 70s on my own singing career. I didn’t seriously consider the option of writing for other singers until 1981. That year, over breakfast one morning, I banged out a lyric to a John Parker melody, which was cut by the Latin heartthrob of the day, Camilo Sesto. That cover brought in more royalties for me than Partial Surrender, my album released the same year, which I’d spent 18 months writing and recording. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “There’s a message here.”
Indeed. The following year I co-wrote “In Your Eyes” with the brilliant and vastly successful composer Michael Masser. “In Your Eyes” became an international smash for George Benson, actually charting higher in some territories than my original recording of “Sometimes When We Touch.” Jeffrey Osborne also recorded “In Your Eyes,” turning it into an Adult Contemporary (AC) hit in the United States in 1986. It also crossed onto the American R&B charts. The vocal blessings of Benson and Osborne encouraged many other artists to cut the song. I even recorded it myself in 1994, turning it into a duet with Rique Franks; it peaked at #10 on America’s Radio and Records AC charts.
The Comeback
In the late 80s, I experienced a brief resurgence in my singing career. Within a span of three years, I scored four top-three US Adult Contemporary hits. “Can’t We Try?” was #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went on to be Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Song of the Year for 1987. “Never Thought (That I Could Love)” hit #1 on Radio & Records Adult Contemporary chart in 1988, “Carmelia” peaked at #6. In 1989, “Unborn Heart” reached #2 on the AC charts. Also in 1989, a female singer named Celine Dion, then still largely unknown in English Canada, released her first successful radio single in Canada: “Can’t Live With You,” which I co-wrote. Celine and I also sang a duet, “Real Love,” on my ’89 album Wishful Thinking.
Although I continued to bang out my own records in the 90s, many of which placed highly on the US Adult Contemporary charts (“I Fall All Over Again” peaked at #3 in 1992), I’d grown weary of all the blood, sweat, tears, and politics that go into being a pop performer. To my great fortune, Celine Dion recorded a song (“Seduces Me”) that I co-wrote with John Sheard on her Grammy Award–winning album Falling Into You. (I also served as co-producer on “Seduces Me,” along with John Jones and Rick Hahn.) Because I played a part—along with at least a dozen other producers—in putting together Celine Dion’s thirty million plus selling album, I was awarded a Grammy. I found this rather ironic, as I’m a far better singer and songwriter than producer. Not that I was complaining. (I’d earned an earlier Grammy nomination in 1979, for male vocal performance of the year for “Sometimes When We Touch,” but lost to Barry Manilow, who, you guessed it, went on to record “Sometimes When We Touch”, releasing it as a single in 1998.)
Songwriting
Twenty years had passed between my first hit single as an artist and my first dream cover as a songwriter. In the same way that “Sometimes When We Touch” had turbo-charged my performing career, Celine’s magnificent version of “Seduces Me” galvanized my songwriting career. From 1997 on, I concentrated on songwriting for other vocalists.
This had several upsides: songwriting, while more challenging creatively than performing, is also less physically taxing, and none of the vexing and superficial “artist” issues nip at your heels. No one cares if you’re cute, hip, fashionable, sexy, or young. All that matters is whether you can deliver the big song. And so, by the late 90s, wanting to spend more time with my family and pay closer attention to my health (I had been diagnosed as diabetic in 1996), I decided songwriting was the logical, the only, career choice for me. And there was yet another deciding factor: ability. I’m not going to play the modesty card here; I consider myself to be a very, very good singer. Nevertheless, I’m an even better songwriter. (That being said, my vocal ability has, in many cases, helped me sell my songs to various artists; I record or demo most of my songs before they’re pitched to singers or groups.)
Here is a list of some of the songs I’ve written that have been recorded by other artists. Most of these songs I’ve written with other writers. For the sake of brevity, I won’t include their names here, but they are listed in the song credits on the CDs, records, DVDs, movies, iTunes, ring tones, and videos that feature them.
Country Covers
- Sometimes When We Touch (1986)
Top 5 country single for Tammy Wynette and Mark Gray - Love of My Life (1997)
#1 U.S. country single for Sammy Kershaw - I Do (Cherish You) (1998)
#1 U.S. country single for Mark Wills - She’s in Love (1998)
#3 U.S. country single for Mark Wills - Maybe Not Tonight (1999)
Top 15 U.S. country single for Sammy Kershaw and Lorrie Morgan - When You Love Someone (1999)
Top 25 U.S. country single for Sammy Kershaw - Back Before the War (1999)
Reba McEntire - There Ya Go (2004)
Alan Jackson - To Be with You (2000)
Jamie O’Neal - I Have Always Loved You (2000)
Kathy Mattea
Pop Covers
- In Your Eyes (1983)
International hit for George Benson
US Adult Contemporary hit for Jeffrey Osborne - Can’t Live with You (1989)
Celine Dion and Billy-Newton-Davis - Wishful Thinking (1989)
Celine Dion and Dan Hill - Seduces Me (1996)
Celine Dion, on her Grammy Award–winning album Falling Into You - I Do (Cherish You) (2000)
Top 3 U.S. pop hit for 98 Degrees
Also included on multi-platinum Notting Hill soundtrack - I Promise You (2000)
Backstreet Boys - Slowly (2002)
Michael Bolton - When I Found You (2002)
Britney Spears (released internationally but not in North America) - The Human Spark (2005)
Michael W. Smith - Open Your Eyes (2003)
Nick Lachey - Waiting Just for You (2001)
Ginette Rineau - Sometimes When We Touch
(too many artists to even begin to start listing here)
My Personal Favourite Covers
Two jazz songs: “Deep Down Inside” and “Sometimes I Dream.” I wrote these with jazz great Joe Sealy, for his 1996 Juno Award–winning Africville Suite album.
A Small Sampling of European Covers
- Into the Night (charted single/2002)
Love Inc. - You’re a Love Song (Just Waiting to Happen)
H & Claire - Riding on a Love Train
German Pop Idol winner - That’s Why I Love You
Top 5 single in Sweden for Swedish Pop Idol winner - I Don’t Think of You
Natural - Healing Power of Love
Jennifer Rush - What Do I Do with All This Love?
Agnes - Can’t Find My Way Out
Swedish Pop Idol winner
