Danny's Song

"Danny's Song"
Song by Loggins and Messina from the album Sittin' In
Released	November 1971
Recorded	1971
Genre	Folk rock
Length	4:16
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Kenny Loggins
Producer(s)	Jim Messina

"Danny's Song" is a song written by the American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. It was written 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 Anne Murray's 1972 top-ten charting cover.

Loggins and Messina version

Loggins and Jim Messina released Sittin' In in 1971, and although the album yielded no Top 40 radio hits, one song that received a significant amount of radio airplay was "Danny's Song". Loggins wrote the song for his brother, Danny Loggins, in 1970 when Danny became the father of a boy named Colin – his first son.^[2] 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 frequent airplay on rock and adult contemporary radio stations.^[2]

Personnel

• Kenny Loggins – lead vocals, classical acoustic guitar
• Jim Messina – harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
• Al Garth – violin
• Larry Sims – bass, backing vocals
• Merel Bregante – percussion(?)
• Michael Omartian – piano
• Milt Holland – percussion

Anne Murray version

"Danny's Song"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album Danny's Song
B-side	"Drown Me"
Released	December 23. 1972
Format	7" (45 rpm)
Genre	Country
Length	3:03
Label	Capitol
Writer(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. The version she recorded of the song omitted two of the lyric verses and is in 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;^[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]

Chart performance

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

Other covers

• The song was covered by punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Have a Ball.^[9]
• The song was covered by Tift Merritt on the 2010 album See You On The Moon.
• The song was covered by Tim and Nicki Bluhm by their band Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers on their 2008 album, Toby's Song.
• The song was covered by Matthew Morrison and Jayma Mays during the fifth season of the television show Glee.^[10]
• The song was performed by actress Martha Plimpton (as Virginia Chance) in the pilot episode of the show Raising Hope as a lullaby to her granddaughter. This touching moment became a theme for the program, and was revisited in season four, in the series finale, when Loggins himself appeared to sing it at Virginia's wedding.
• The song was performed by The Swon Brothers twice on season 4 of The Voice (U.S.).^[11] Their version charted on the Billboard Hot 100 (#66), Canadian Hot 100 (#53), and Hot Country Songs (#16).^[12]
• The song was sampled by John Frusciante & Black Knights on the song "Never Let Go". It was released as a free download preceding their first collaborative record in January 2014, Medieval Chamber.^[13]

References

1. "Recording: Danny's Song". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
2. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #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 11 October 2010.
5. "RPM Country Tracks for January 27, 1973". RPM. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
6. "RPM Adult Contemporary for January 20, 1973". RPM. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
7. "Anne Murray – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Anne Murray.
8. "Anne Murray – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Anne Murray.
9. "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes :: Have A Ball - Records: Fat Wreck Chords". Fatwreck.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
10. "Facebook". Glee The Music. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
11. "Danny's Song (The Voice Performance) - Single by The Swon Brothers". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
12. "The Swon Brothers Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
13. "John Frusciante". John Frusciante. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2016-10-03.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics