Mel McDaniel

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Melvin Huston McDaniel (September 6, 1942 – March 31, 2011)^[1] was an American country music artist. Many of his top hits were released in the 1980s, including "Louisiana Saturday Night", "Big Ole Brew", "Stand Up", "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" (which reached number one on the country chart), "I Call It Love", "Stand on It", and a remake of Chuck Berry's "Let It Roll (Let It Rock)".

McDaniel's type of country music has been referred to as "the quintessential happy song" in comparison to other country artists who discuss broken hearts and lost loves. When asked why most of his songs were positive in their outlook, McDaniel told the Anchorage Daily News that "there's enough things in the world to keep you bummed out" and that his fans did not want to "hear me singing something that's gonna bum 'em out some more."^[2]

Biography

Early life

McDaniel was born in

After marrying his high school sweetheart, McDaniel began performing in Tulsa. From there, he had an unsuccessful trip to Nashville, followed by quite a bit of success in Anchorage, Alaska, performing at clubs among the oil fields.^[3] After two years there, he returned to Nashville and landed a job as a demo singer and songwriter with Combine Music. With the help of music publisher Bob Beckham, McDaniel signed to Capitol Records in 1976 and released his first single, "Have a Dream on Me".^[3]

His career finally took off with "

McDaniel became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 11, 1986, and made frequent appearances on the show.

McDaniel was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006, along with induction classmate Leon Russell.^[4]

Later years, health, and death

On November 14, 1996, he had a nearly fatal fall into an orchestra pit while he was performing at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. The accident ended his touring career, and he underwent several surgeries thereafter. McDaniel never fully recovered from his injuries. On June 16, 2009, McDaniel suffered a heart attack, putting him in a medically induced coma in a Nashville area hospital, according to The Tennessean.^{[citation needed]} McDaniel's wife, Peggy, requested the prayers of the singer's fans, saying his situation was "not good."^[5] McDaniel recovered from the heart attack, but on February 19, 2011, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died at his home on the evening of March 31, as a result of the disease. He was 68 years old.^[6]

Discography

• I'm Countryfied (1980)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

American Music Awards

Music City News Country Awards

Academy of Country Music Awards

Country Music Association Awards

References

Bibliography

• Millard, Bob (1998). "Mel McDaniel". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 337.

External links

• CMT.com: Mel McDaniel