Birth name | Daniel Grafton Hill IV |
---|---|
Born | 3 June 1954 (age 66) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Pop, soft rock, R&B, soul |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
Years active | 1975–present |
Website | danhill.com |
Daniel Grafton Hill IV[1][2] (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs 'Sometimes When We Touch' and 'Can't We Try', a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other charting singles in Canada and the United States. He also established himself as a songwriter who produced hit songs for artists such as George Benson and Celine Dion.
Early life[edit]
Hill was born in Toronto, the son of social scientist and public servant Daniel G. Hill and social activist Donna Mae Hill (née Bender, 1928–2018[3]), and older brother of the author Lawrence Hill and the late novelist Karen Hill. His musical talent was apparent from a young age, and he received his first guitar shortly after his tenth birthday. While in high school, he was singing and performing at concerts and coffee houses. At one point Hill was working for the Ontario provincial government sorting mail and delivering supplies, while performing at the Riverboat at night. Before finishing high school, he recorded a demo tape with the assistance of his boyhood friend Matt McCauley, later a well-known composer and arranger. In 1972, he signed a contract with RCA, who released a single the following year but did little to advance his career.[4]
- Is reported by Dan Hill (author) to have written to his father, an American preacher, to say, 'The prejudiced in Canada is much politer than I have experienced anywhere in Dan Hill's dad was the first ever commissioner of the Human Rights Tribunal in Ontario Canada.
- Listen to I Am My Father's Son from Dan Hill's Intimate Dan Hill: The Platinum Collection (International Version) for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists.
Career[edit]
In I Am My Father’s Son, Hill traces this poignant, difficult relationship through vivid family stories, letters, memories and his own award-winning lyrics, often revealing the motivation behind the songs. He tells the story of two parallel lives, alternating between his father’s experience of racism in mid-20th-century America and his own search for identity as a young black man in suburban Canada.
Continuing to record with McCauley, he succeeded in breaking the RCA contract and signing with GRT Records, an independent Canadian label. In 1975, they released his first Canadian hit single,'You Make Me Want to Be,' which was followed by his first album, Dan Hill.
In 1977, Hill recorded the ballad 'Sometimes When We Touch'. He also wrote the lyrics and was assisted in the music by Barry Mann for the album from the same year, Longer Fuse, and it was released as a single. It was Hill's biggest hit, peaking at No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart, and leading to Hill's appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show. Tina Turner covered the song in 1978 on her album Rough.
Another one of his hit songs was 'It's a Long Road', which he recorded for the 1982 action movie First Blood. In 1985, he was one of the many Canadian performers to appear on the benefit single 'Tears Are Not Enough' by Northern Lights. Although he had many hits in his native Canada, further singles did not fare as well in the United States, where, after 'Let the Song Last Forever' in late 1978, he went almost a decade without cracking any of Billboard's singles charts.
In 1987, Hill returned to the Billboard Hot 100 with the Top 40 hit 'Can't We Try', a duet with the then-unknown Vonda Shepard (her last name was incorrectly spelled 'Sheppard' on the label). It peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100. He also had a near Top 40 hit with 'Never Thought (That I Could Love)'. Both records reached No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and set the stage for Hill to have three more top 10 U.S. AC hits through to 1991's 'I Fall All Over Again', though he did not make the Hot 100 again after 'Never Thought'.
In 1996, Hill received a Grammy for his role as co-producer on Celine Dion's album Falling Into You. In 2021, he was to be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.[5]
As one of the new Canadian singers and songwriters, such as Bruce Cockburn and Murray McLauchlan, who emerged from the coffeehouses and other small venues during the 1970s, Hill belongs to the generation who achieved a prominent place in Canadian popular culture. In addition to his Grammy for his work on Celine Dion's 'Falling into You', he received five Juno Awards and other prestigious awards.[6] A road trip to a Hill concert was the subject of the 1994 Canadian comedy film, South of Wawa. Although he has performed less frequently in recent decades, in 2007, he toured with the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe.
Hill was a lifelong friend of writer Paul Quarrington, and the two also occasionally performed together as a folk music duo, billed as Quarrington/Hill.[7] The pair's final collaboration, a song about death called 'Are You Ready', was completed just ten days before Quarrington's death in early 2010, which would be featured in a television documentary, Paul Quarrington: Life in Music.[7]
A summary of his career, published in 2021, added some specifics:[5]
'throughout the 1990s, he focused on penning lyrics for some of the most prominent singers of the era, including Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and Reba McEntire ... he returned to his singer-songwriter roots with the 2020 single 'What About Black Lives?' part of the yet-to-be-released studio album 'On the Other Side of Here'.
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) announced the induction of Dan Hill on February 10, 2021.
Personal life[edit]
Dan Hill is divorced from Beverly Chapin and is with a new partner.[8][9][2][10] Some sources have incorrectly stated that he was married to American country singer Faith Hill whose surname comes from her first marriage to an unrelated Nashville record executive also named Daniel Hill.[11]
In early 2009, Hill published I Am My Father's Son: A Memoir of Love and Forgiveness (ISBN978-1-55468-190-7) which recounts his childhood and his relationship with his prominent father.[12] Like his father, Hill was diagnosed as a diabetic. Hill learned from a doctor before a concert, that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.[13]
Hill wrote an article in the 14 February 2008 edition of Maclean's entitled 'Every Parent's Nightmare', about the terror he experienced from friends his son brought home.[14] On 14 March 2008, CBC Television's The National aired an in-depth interview with Hill discussing his son's involvement with Toronto gangs.[15]
Hill is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[16]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
- 1975: Dan Hill
- 1976: Hold On
- 1977: Longer Fuse AUS #9[17]
- 1978: Frozen in the Night
- 1980: If Dreams Had Wings
- 1981: Partial Surrender
- 1983: Love in the Shadows
- 1984: Sometimes When We Touch: The Best of Dan Hill AUS #74[17]
- 1987: Dan Hill
- 1989: Real Love
- 1991: Dance of Love
- 1993: Let Me Show You (Greatest Hits and More)
- 1996: I'm Doing Fine
- 1999: Love of My Life (The Best of Dan Hill)
- 2010: Intimate
- 2021: On The Other Side of Here
Singles[edit]
Year | Song | AUS[17] | Canada | CAN AC | US | U.S. AC | UK[18] | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | 'You Make Me Want to Be' | - | 24 | 16 | - | - | - | Dan Hill (1975) |
'Growin' Up' | - | 41 | 30 | 67 | – | – | ||
1976 | 'You Say You're Free' | - | 61 | 13 | – | – | – | |
'Hold On' | - | 46 | – | – | – | – | Hold On | |
1977 | 'Phonecall' | - | 53 | 17 | – | – | – | |
'Sometimes When We Touch' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | Longer Fuse | |
1978 | 'All I See Is Your Face' | - | 35 | 36 | 41 | 8 | – | Frozen in the Night |
'Let the Song Last Forever' | - | 14 | 19 | 91 | 50 | – | ||
'On the Dark Side of Atlanta' | - | 44 | – | – | – | – | ||
1979 | '(Why Did You Have to Go and) Pick on Me' | - | 57 | 35 | – | – | – | |
1980 | 'I Still Reach for You' | - | 83 | 9 | – | – | – | If Dreams Had Wings |
1981 | 'Don't Give Up on Love' | - | – | – | – | – | – | Partial Surrender |
1982 | 'I'm Just a Man' | - | – | 20 | – | – | – | |
1983 | 'Love in the Shadows' | - | 45 | 24 | – | – | – | Love in the Shadows |
'It's a Long Road' | 57 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1984 | 'Helpless' | - | – | – | – | – | – | |
'You Pulled Me Through' | - | – | – | – | – | – | ||
1987 | 'Can't We Try' (w/ Vonda Shepard) | 41 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 2 | – | Dan Hill (1987) |
'Never Thought (That I Could Love)' | 98 | 22 | 1 | 43 | 2 | – | ||
1988 | 'Carmelia' | - | ? | ? | – | 8 | – | |
1989 | 'Why Do We Always Hurt the Ones We Love' | - | – | – | – | – | – | Real Love |
'Unborn Heart' | - | 25 | 1 | – | 3 | – | ||
'Wishful Thinking' (w/ Celine Dion) | - | ? | ? | – | – | – | ||
1991 | 'I Fall All Over Again' | - | ? | ? | – | 7 | – | Dance of Love |
1992 | 'Hold Me Now' (w/ Rique Franks) | - | ? | ? | – | 30 | – | |
1993 | 'Sometimes When We Touch' (w/ Rique Franks) | - | 46 | – | – | – | – | Let Me Show You – Greatest Hits and More |
1994 | 'In Your Eyes' (w/ Rique Franks) | - | ? | ? | – | 38 | – |
References[edit]
- ^'The Life and Times of Daniel G. Hill'. Archives of Ontario. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ^ ab'Can't We Try'. ACE Title Search. ASCAP. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^Hill, Lawrence (1 June 2018). 'Act of love: The life and death of Donna Mae Hill'. The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^Hill, Dan (2010). I Am My Father's Son. Toronto: Harper Perennial. pp. 225–228. ISBN978-1-55468-191-4.
- ^ ab'Dan Hill to join Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame'. Metroland. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^'Dan Hill'. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ ab'Paul and me and one last song. About dying.'Maclean's, 3 February 2010
- ^'Official Records for December 06, 1983'. Hansard Transcripts. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 6 December 1983. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^O'Connor, Joe (23 February 2008). 'In Touch Again'. National Post. Retrieved 29 February 2008.[dead link]
- ^'(Can This Be) Real Love'. ACE Title Search. ASCAP. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^Haislop, Neil. 'Country Q&A'. Great American Country. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^'Dan Hill deals with daddy issues in candid new memoir'. CTV News. 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^'Canadian musician Dan Hill discusses his cancer survival story'. toronto.citynews.ca.
- ^Hill, Dan (14 February 2008). 'Every parent's nightmare'. Macleans. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^'A Father's Fear', The National, 14 March 2008.
- ^'Artists – Artists Against Racism'.
- ^ abcKent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 139. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
- ^Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
External links[edit]
- Official Website. Retrieved 26 October 2006
- Dan Hill discography at Discogs
- Dan Hill at IMDb
A Fathers Son
Dan Hill
Nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Vocal, winner of a Grammy (as co-producer of “Seduces Me” on Celine Dion’s 30 plus million-selling “Falling Into You” album), winner of five Juno Awards and the Harold Moon Award (Canadian Lifetime Songwriting Achievement Award), Dan has recorded and released multiple gold and platinum albums. His classic hits, such as “Sometimes When We Touch” (closing in on 5 million spins in America alone, and covered by hundreds of artists around the world), “Can’t We Try” (#1 Billboard AC Record of the Year), and “Never Thought (That I could Love)”, another #1 AC record, all remain staples of AC radio stations around the world. Dan has also enjoyed consistent success as a ‘behind the scenes’ songwriter, his compositions recorded by so many artists spanning so many musical genres that it’s, well, incredible. Pop singers Celine Dion, Britney Spears, 98 Degrees, The Backstreet Boys, Rod Stewart, Donny Osmond, Jennifer Rush and Michael Bolton, R&B singers Tina Turner, George Benson, and Jeffrey Osborne and country singers Tammy Wynette, Sammy Kershaw, Mark Wills, Reba, Alan Jackson, and Lorrie Morgan, to name a select few. In 2009, Dan Hill published his highly acclaimed memoir, I Am My Father’s Son (HarperCollins Canada). On the heels of completing his memoir, Dan recorded his 14th album, Intimate, with producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin, his first studio album of new songs in almost 15 years. Thus began a hectic period of composing and recording, touring and writing that continues to this day.
Intimate was released in March 2010. The album featured new songs such as the CD’s lead track “(Don’t Tell Me) How I Feel” and revised versions of his hit songs recorded by 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys, Reba McEntire and Michael W. Smith. Last October, after making friends with the world’s greatest boxer Manny Pacquiao, Dan and his producers joined Pacquiao at Capital Recording Studios in Hollywood, California to record “Sometimes When We Touch”. Out of this session emerged 7 versions of the song (including a hip-hop version with Toronto based, Grammy winning producer Boi 1da), a 4 minute music video and a 26 minute documentary issued as the CD/DVD combo set, Sometimes When We Touch: Manny Pacquiao Sings featuring Dan Hill.
Dan kicked off 2011 touring the Philippines where he played a sold out show with Stephen Bishop and Yvonne Elliman at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila. Then he was front and centre for the Juno’s 40th anniversary celebrations 2011 where he presented the “Pop LP of the Year” award, performed in the Juno Decades shows and was featured in the book, Music from Far and Wide: Celebrating 40 Years of the Juno Awards (Key Porter Books).
Currently, Hill divides his time between writing songs and prose. In addition to writing several feature articles for leading publications and his regular column for Diabetes Magazine, he has captured his experiences with Manny in The Globe and Mail and Maclean’s magazine. In the studio, Dan has just cut and mixed six new songs for his upcoming album and is working, alongside producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin, with Manny on the boxing champion’s new CD featuring “(Don’t Tell Me) How I Feel” with newly signed Pacquiao artist Mado.
Listen as Dan Hill discusses the writing process with Blair Packham (SongStudio 2010).
/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Dan-Hill-2010.mp3Dan Hill I Am My Father's Son Book
Visit the Official Dan Hill website.