Gene McDaniels

Gene McDaniels (born February 12, 1935 in Kansas City , Kansas , † July 29, 2011 in Kittery Point , Maine ) was an American pop music singer , composer and music producer .

Life

Eugene Booker McDaniels began singing in the church choir as a young child, and at the age of eleven he became a member of a gospel quartet . He grew up in Omaha , Nebraska , and studied at the local music conservatory. When the gospel quartet went to New York , McDaniels became the group leader. In 1954 McDaniels moved to Los Angeles , where he quickly made a name for himself as a jazz singer in jazz clubs.

McDaniels signed his first record deal in 1960 with Liberty Records , where Tommy Gerret became his producer, who provided him with works from the Brill Building by Burt Bacharach and Carole King , among others . In the spring of 1961, McDaniels, whose first name was given on the record labels as Gene, landed a top hit with the pop song on his third single A Hundred Pounds of Clay , which brought him to third place in the American charts. In the fall of the same year he came in fifth place with Tower of Strength . The record successes lasted until 1963, during which time Gene McDaniels's records made it into the top 100 seven times. In 1962 he starred with Chubby Checker , Gene Vincent and Del Shannon in the British film It's Trad Dad , which also featured his song Another Tear Falls . A tour through Australia was unsatisfactory, and so McDaniels continued to concentrate on his record productions.

In 1965 his record deal with Liberty ran out and after two unsuccessful recordings with Columbia Records , he settled again in New York and made jazz music again, among others with Herbie Hancock . In 1967 McDaniels went to Europe for two years and worked there as a songwriter. This activity determined his career even after his return to the States. He signed a contract as a singer and composer with the record company Atlantic Records and had a number 1 hit in 1974 with the title Feel Like Makin 'Love sung by Roberta Flack . Between 1974 and 1979 McDaniels was also active as a producer and worked with several well-known soloists, such as Nancy Wilson and Gladys Knight . In 1996 he founded his own company, the Numoon Disc Company, with Carolyn E. Thompson.

Gene McDaniels died on July 29, 2011 after a brief illness at the age of 76 at his home in Kittery Point.

Discography

Albums

• 1960: In Times Like These ( Liberty 3146)
• 1960: Sometimes I'm Happy Sometimes I'm Blue (Liberty 3175)
• 1961: 100 lbs. of Clay! (Liberty 3191)
• 1961: Tower of Strength (Liberty 3215)
• 1962: Sings Movie Memories (Liberty 3204)
• 1962: Hit After Hit (Liberty 3258)
• 1963: Spanish Lace (Liberty 3275)
• 1963: The Wonderful World of Gene McDaniels (Liberty 3311)
• 1966: The Facts of Life ( Sunset 5122)
• 1970: Outlaw ( Atlantic 8259)
• 1971: Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (Atlantic 8281)
• 1975: Natural Juices (Ode 77028)
• 1983: The Mack (Original Soundtrack) (with Alan Silvestri ; ALA 1995)
• 2004: Screams and Whispers (Genepool 235)

Compilations

• 1967: Golden Greats (Liberty 3502)
• 1975: The Very Best of Gene McDaniels ( United Artists LA447-E)
• 1985: A Hundred Pounds of Clay & Other Hits ( EMI America Special Products )
• 1992: The Best of Gene Mcdaniels: A Hundred Pounds of Clay (Liberty 99998)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		UK	US	R&B
1961	A Hundred Pounds of Clay 100 Lbs. of Clay!	-	US3 (15 weeks) US	R&B11 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1961 Liberty 55308 Authors: Bob Elgin, Luther Dixon, Kay Rogers
	A Tear Tower of Strength	-	US31 (8 weeks) US	-	First published: June 1961 Liberty 55344 Authors: Willie Denson, Luther Dixon
	Tower of Strength Tower of Strength	UK49 (2 weeks) UK	US5 (13 weeks) US	R&B5 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1961 Liberty 55371 Authors: Burt Bacharach , Bob Hilliard
1962	Chip Chip Hit After Hit	-	US10 (11 weeks) US	-	First published: December 29, 1961 Liberty 55405 Authors: Arthur Resnick, Cliff Crofford, Jeff Barry
	Funny Tower of Strength	-	US99 (1 week) US	-	First published: April 1962 Liberty 55444 Author: Lawrence Holofcener
	Point of No Return Hit After Hit	-	US21 (10 weeks) US	R&B23 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1962 Liberty 55480 Authors: Gerry Goffin , Carole King
	Spanish Lace Spanish Lace	-	US31 (9 weeks) US	-	First published: September 1962 Liberty 55510 Authors: Doc Pomus , Mort Shuman
1963	It's a Lonely Town (Lonely Without You) It's Trad, Dad! (Soundtrack)	-	US64 (7 weeks) US	-	First published: July 1, 1963 Liberty 55597 from the soundtrack of the film Twen Hit Parade Authors: Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman

More singles

• 1960: In Times Like These (Liberty 55231; release: January)
• 1960: Green Door (Liberty 55265; release: August)
• 1961: Take Good Care of Her (released May)
• 1961: The Exciting Gene McDaniels (EP; release: August)
• 1963: The Puzzle (Liberty 55541; release: February)
• 1963: Anyone Else (Liberty 55637; release: October 4th)
• 1964: Make Me a Present of You (Liberty 55723; release: August)
• 1964: (There Goes The) Forgotten Man (Liberty 55752; release: November)
• 1965: Walk with a Winner (Liberty 55805; release: June)
• 1965: Will It Last Forever (Liberty 55834; release: September)
• 1966: Something Blue ( Columbia 43800; released October 17th)
• 1967: The Touch of Your Lips (Columbia 44010; released February 6)
• 1971: Tell Me Mr. President (as Eugene McDaniels; Atlantic 2805; release: May)
• 1973: River ( MGM K 14613; release: August)
• 1975: Lady Fair (Ode 66107; release: February)

literature

• Frank Laufenberg: Rock- und Poplexikon Vol. 2 , Econ Taschenbuch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 981, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 .

swell

1. ↑ Chart sources: UK Billboard Hot 100
2. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Gene McDaniels in the catalog of the German National Library
• Gene McDaniels in theInternet Movie Database(English)
• Gene McDaniels at Discogs (English)
• Gene McDaniels at Allmusic (English)
• McDaniels at www.billboard.biz
• Discography at www.soulfulkindamusic.net
• Gene McDaniels at 45cat.com

• Gene McDaniels in the database of Find a Grave (English)