Bill Danoff

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William T. "Bill" Danoff (born May 7, 1946 in Springfield , Massachusetts ) is an American songwriter and singer . He gained fame as the front man of the Starland Vocal Band and through his collaboration with John Denver . Together with Denver and his wife Taffy Nivert , he wrote the country song Take Me Home, Country Roads in 1971 .

Life

Bill Danoff was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1946. At the local high school he formed a band called The Reflections , with which he recorded several songs and performed in the northeastern United States. At the end of the 1960s, Danoff met the musician Taffy Nivert, with whom he subsequently appeared under the name Fat City . The duo later renamed themselves Bill and Taffy .

In 1971 Danoff wrote the country songs Take Me Home, Country Roads and I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado together with Nivert , both of which were great hits for John Denver. Take Me Home, Country Roads , in particular , achieved cult status and became the official anthem of West Virginia . In 1972 Danoff and Nivert married. In the years that followed, Danoff wrote a dozen other songs for John Denver. He was also the co-writer of Emmylou Harris ' 1975 song Boulder to Birmingham .

In 1976 Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert founded the Starland Vocal Band together with other musicians , the songs of which were all written by Danoff. The best known piece of the group became Afternoon Delight , which reached number one on the charts in the United States and Canada . In 1980 the band broke up, a little later Danoff and Nivert divorced.

Bill Danoff held music seminars in 2007 and 2008 at Georgetown University , where he had studied himself. He is the father of two daughters and a son who also works as a musician.

Discography

  • 1972: Victory Is Peace ( Extended Play ; with Taffy Nivert and John Denver)
  • 2002: I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado
  • 2007: Blasted In The Basement

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Danoff, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Danoff, William T.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American songwriter and singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Springfield , Massachusetts , United States