Due to the recent CDC recommendation to not have gatherings of 50 or more we regretfully announce that DSA Hall of Fame event on April 18 has been rescheduled to September 19.
We all hate the erosion of normalcy in peoples lives at this time in our country, but everyone should make every effort to do what they can to help to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
This enables us to extend the time for Rising Star auditions. Post your auditions on Facebook @dallasongwriters.
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September 19, 2020 Hall of Fame Event
WHAT: DSA Halll Of Fame
WHERE: Love and War in Texas
WHEN: Doors open 6:30PM Show Starts at 7PM
TICKETS: General Admission - 15 in advance, 18 at the door
Students: 10 in advance, 12 at the door.
Ticket link
Join us as we honor the great Texas songwriters of the past and partner with the stars of the future.
In April at Love and War in Texas, DSA will induct John Denver, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Janie Fricke, Steve Weisberg, and Gregg Smith into the Dallas Songwriters Hall of Fame. The event promises to be a fun evening that celebrates the inductees and their music.
Enjoy beautiful renditions of John Denvers “Take Me Home Country Roads,” England Dan and John Ford Coley’s “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” Janie Fricke’s “He’s A Heartache,” Steve Weisberg’s “Christmas for Cowboys,” and so much more. Take in multimedia presentations that stroll down memory lane sharing the highlights of each inductee’s career in music. It’s going to be a night to remember.
So mark your calendars and keep an eye out for when tickets go on sale. To be sure you don’t miss this wonderful evening of music. Go to dallassongwriters.org and join DSA’s mailing list to make sure you keep up on the latest news on the Dallas Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The event will be at Love and War in Texas in Plano, Tx.
Last year, DSA initiated a new Rising Star program to encourage young aspiring musicians to celebrate our legends with performances of songs by our inductees. DSA is reaching out to the local music schools and asking for auditions at each school for the honor to perform. These students will be backed up by the DSA Hall of Fame band consisting of highly respected local musicians. The band members and special guests will also perform songs by our inductees.
DSA Rising Stars Program
DSA in partnership with local music schools will work to identify DFW’s brightest young stars to participate in an evening of music celebrating the 2020 inductees into the Dallas Songwriters Hall of Fame. If you would like to have your school participate please email your request to info@dallassongwriters.org. Include the name of the school, primary contact, and contact information. DSA will have someone reach out to the primary contact and discuss this one of a kind opportunity.
DSA’s Hall of Fame Event provides an opportunity for rising stars to perform an iconic song live, backed by the DSA Players, at Love and War in Texas. It is also a great opportunity to network with other rising stars, local area songwriters, and performers.
Don’t miss out on this one of a kind opportunity. If you know a rising star have them contact their music school and have the school email DSA.
Dallas Songwriters Association
Facebook @dallassongwriters
Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1007118369648865/
John Denver
Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed, with total sales of over 33 million records worldwide.[6] He recorded and performed primarily with an acoustic guitar and sang about his joy in nature, his disdain for city life, his enthusiasm for music, and his relationship trials. Denver's music appeared on a variety of charts, including country music, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning 12 gold and four platinum albums with his signature songs "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Annie's Song", "Rocky Mountain High", "Calypso", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "Sunshine on My Shoulders".
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. was born on New Year's Eve 1943, in Roswell, New Mexico, Because Denver's father was in the military and his family moved often, it was difficult for him to make friends and fit in with other children of his own age. Constantly being the new kid was troubling for the introverted Denver, and he grew up always feeling as though he should be somewhere else, but never knowing where that "right" place was.[ The family later moved to Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas, where Denver was raised and graduated from Arlington Heights High School.
Denver learned to play well enough to perform at local clubs by the time he was in college. He adopted the surname "Denver" after the capital of his favorite state, Colorado. He decided to change his name when Randy Sparks, founder of The New Christy Minstrels, suggested that "Deutschendorf" would not fit comfortably on a marquee.[15] Denver attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock and sang in a folk-music group called "The Alpine Trio" while pursuing architectural studies. He was also a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Denver dropped out of the Texas Tech and moved to Los Angeles, where he sang in folk clubs. In 1965, Denver joined the Mitchell Trio, replacing founder Chad Mitchell. ]
In 1969, Denver abandoned the band life to pursue a solo career and released his first album for RCA Records, Rhymes & Reasons. Two years prior, Denver had made a self-produced demo recording of some of the songs he played at his concerts. He included in the demo a song he had written called "Babe, I Hate to Go", later renamed "Leaving on a Jet Plane". Denver made several copies and gave them out as presents for Christmas.[19] Producer Milt Okun, who produced records for the Mitchell Trio and the high-profile folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, had become Denver's producer as well. Okun brought the unreleased "Jet Plane" song to Peter, Paul and Mary. Their version of the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[ Denver's composition also made it to the U.K. No. 2 spot in February 1970, having also made No. 1 on the U.S. Cash Box chart in December 1969.
Steve Wiseberg
Wiseberg was born in Dallas on November 14, 1949. He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas and attended The University of Texas at Austin. Steve began his professional musical career in Dallas, playing lead guitar in local rock bands while attending high school. During college, he performed throughout the Southwest as a member of the Sweetarts, and later, The Sparkles. Steve moved to Aspen, CO in 1972 and played lead guitar for John Denver from 1973 - 1977, recording on many of his most successful albums and touring globally. His songwriting credits include "Christmas for Cowboys," recorded and published by John Denver on his album, Rocky Mountain Christmas. One of Steve's last public performances was March 15, 2014 at The Meyerson, as a guest of Jim Curry and Band and The Dallas Symphony Orchestra. It pleased him greatly to perform in his hometown again. Steve led a very active life of performing and entertaining. Throughout his life, Steve made many friends who were drawn to his sense of humor, warmth, passion, charisma, intelligence, storytelling and musicianship. Steve passed away on May 22, 2014, in Dallas, Tx at age 64. |
| Steve Weisberg and John Denver |
England Dan and John Ford Coley
The duo began while they were friends and classmates at W. W. Samuell High School in Dallas, Texas, United States. Seals and Coley performed first as part of local cover bands, including Playboys Five and Theze Few. They recorded a series of demos in Nashville as The Shimmerers, but their prospects ended with the death of their producer, before he could secure a recording deal for them. Their next grouping was Dallas pop/psych group Southwest F.O.B. ("Freight on Board"), whose material has been re-released on CD by the Sundazed label.
Seals was the younger brother of Jim Seals of the 1970s soft rock duo Seals and Crofts. Dan was born in West Texas but moved to Dallas with his mother when he was 8. Dan's childhood nickname, given to him by his brother Jim, was "England Dan" because he was a fan of English rock band The Beatles, and he occasionally adopted an affected English accent. John Colley's last name was re-spelled "Coley" for ease of pronunciation; "Ford" was added as his middle name for flow purposes, thus England Dan and John Ford Coley. Coley was born and raised in Dallas.
Both toured the Texas music scene where Southwest F.O.B. had one charting song, "The Smell of Incense", which rose to No. 43 on the pop chart in 1969. This band played on the bill with such acts as Led Zeppelin. While in the group, Seals and Coley began their own acoustic act, Colley and Wayland. The act was renamed England Dan & John Ford Coley, and the duo signed with A&M Records in 1970. In 1971 they moved to Los Angeles where they opened for numerous bands. Their first break came in 1972, with the song "Simone". It became a No. 1 hit in Japan and also charted in France, but not in the US.
The duo was released in 1972 from its contract with A&M after two albums. Undaunted, the pair continued to press on, stumbling upon the song "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", written by a young Mississippi-based songwriter, Parker McGee. They recorded a demo and played it in the office of Bob Greenberg, a senior VP at Atlantic Records. Atlantic had a subsidiary label named Big Tree in the same office and Big Tree's founder, Doug Morris, had heard the song through the wall and came into the room. When Greenberg decided against it, Morris said "We want it," and offered them a deal.
Dan and John were paired with producer Kyle Lehning, who had also produced McGee's demo. The result was a US #2 hit single in September 1976, which ultimately sold two million copies. July 1976 saw the release of England Dan & John Ford Coley's debut album for Big Tree, Nights Are Forever, also produced by Lehning.[3] Their second Big Tree single, "Nights Are Forever Without You," also written by Parker McGee, also made the Billboard Top 10. After seeing the duo score a huge hit, A&M capitalized on the success by releasing a compilation album in 1976, I Hear Music, using songs recorded years earlier.
Their second Big Tree LP, Dowdy Ferry Road, followed in March 1977, yielding the hit singles, "It's Sad To Belong (To Someone Else)" (#21) (written by Randy Goodrum) and Coley's "Gone Too Far" (#23). The pair are also credited with writing and performing "It's All Up To You," the theme song to the 1977 NBC teen drama series James at 15.
Some Things Don't Come Easy (March 1978) provided We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again", which peaked at #9 and Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive (March 1979) brought forth "Love Is the Answer" (written by Todd Rundgren), which was their last Top 10 hit and their final time in the Top 40 altogether, as follow-up "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart" stalled at #50 in late 1979.
The duo split in 1980 when Seals decided to pursue a career in country music, where he found success throughout the 1980s, scoring hits such as "Meet Me in Montana" (with Marie Osmond) and "Bop". Seals died on March 25, 2009 following treatment for mantle cell lymphoma.
Coley formed another group that released an album on A&M Records: Leslie, Kelly and John Ford Coley (featuring sisters Leslie and Kelly Bulkin), then went on to do television and film appearances in the 1980s. He returned to an active touring schedule in the 1990s and 2000s and was also co-producer for acts such as Eddie Money (with Vince Gill) and Tom Wurth.
Janie Fricke
Fricke was one of the most popular female country singers of the 1980s, producing a string of hits and proving herself a versatile vocalist with a particular flair for ballads.[2] She won the Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist of the Year" awards in 1982 and 1983.
In 1975, Fricke moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she became an in-demand background vocalist. She sang background for numerous other artists at the time; including Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap, Lynn Anderson, Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty and Eddie Rabbitt. However, Fricke's work as background vocalist on several recordings by Johnny Duncan first brought her to national attention. After supplying uncredited background vocals for such Duncan hits as "Jo and the Cowboy", "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous", "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" and "Stranger", Fricke was finally rewarded when she was given equal billing with Duncan on his cover of Jay and the Americans' "Come a Little Bit Closer", in which she sang the song's chorus. However, Fricke's contribution to Duncan's number-one hit "Stranger" in 1977 likely generated the most interest. In that song's chorus, Fricke sang the line, "Shut out the light and lead me....".[5] Listeners wondered who the mystery lady was singing those words in Duncan's song. Because of this, Fricke was able to gain a recording contract of her own from Columbia Records, where she remained for over 10 years, beginning in 1977.
Fricke had a breakthrough year in 1981, when she landed two top-five hits with "Down to My Last Broken Heart" and "I'll Need Someone to Hold Me (When I Cry)".[7] Fricke continued to have her breakthrough success from 1982 through 1984, when she scored six number-one hits: "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby", "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy", "Tell Me a Lie", "He's a Heartache", Let's Stop Talkin' About It" and "Your Heart's Not In It".[7] Three of Fricke's No. 1s were spawned from her 1982 album, It Ain't Easy, which became a successful-selling album. In 1983, Fricke toured with the Heart City Band and Alabama. She was born on a farm in Indiana and after her Nashville days, she settled into country living again south of Dallas where she resides today. Fricke is still actively touring. https://www.janiefricke.com
Gregg A Smith
Gregg A Smith was born in HoneyGrove, Texas. His musical abilities came to light as an entertainer and singer as he performed at his family’s cafe, at the age of 3. Through the early years of adolescene, he began to craft his skills on several musical instruments. Traveling globally became his outlet to expand is talent as an entertainer. As a young man, Gregg attended college in the state of Oregon. He gained a vast arrangement of knowledge in the music field which lead him the greatest opportunity” to perform with the house-band at the Famous Cotton Club. There Gregg experienced a life-long resume of “Who’s Who” to play with in the music industry. From the likes of Etta James, The Whispers, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Grover Washington Jr., B.B. King, James Brown, and the list keeps going on and on of who Gregg has played with, or opened shows for. Now it was Gregg A Smith time to have his own music out. In 1985, Gregg’s first album titled “The Texas Blues Wailer” was released. Through this release, Gregg established a life-long friendship with the late Johnny Taylor as he toured with Bobby “Blue” Bland. Since then, Gregg has released several albums with established labels and various National artist features. These recordings lead Gregg to having a very successful name in the industry. He is an awarding winning radio jock on the KNON 89.3 FM station in Dallas, TX. Gregg's latest single release is titled “Don’t Cry No More.” Catch a listen here:https://greggasmithmusic.com/store
HIT SONG LIST BY INDUCTEES
"The Smell of Incense" by Southwest FOB
"Nights Are Forever Without You,"
"It's Sad To Belong (To Someone Else)"
"Gone Too Far" by Coley,
"It's All Up To You," written by the pair, the theme song to the 1977 NBC teen drama series James at 15.
"Love Is the Answer,
What’s Forever For
What’s Forever For
Coley Late Career:
You Almost Loved Me
Dan Seals country career —
"Meet Me in Montana" (with Marie Osmond)
"Annie's Song",
"Calypso"
"Christmas For Cowboys"
Gregg A Smith:
“Don’t Cry No More"
LISTEN
John Denver- Greatest Hits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo&list=PLfDF7WcaaE8-6fo_0X7vnGN7OvNMIB7b3
England Dan - John Ford Coley
John Ford Coley - You Almost Loved Me
Danny Seals - It's Gonna Be Easy Now
Steve Wiseberg - John Denver singing Christmas For Cowboys
Gregg Smith - Don't Cry No More
Janie Fricke - Greatest Hits
