Country and Pop Singer Dan Seals Dies

“I’ve loved to play and sing from the moment I knew what it was,” explained Dan Seals in 1992. Seals, who was England Dan in the soft pop duo of England Dan and John Ford Coley, passed away on March 25, 2009, from complications from cancer. He was 61.

Some may know Dan Seals from his career in country music. But before he scored big in country music, he and John Ford Coley had several Billboard Top 40 hits including: “I’d Really Like To See You Tonight” (#2 1976), “Nights Are Forever Without You” (#10 1976), “It’s Sad To Belong” (#21 1977), “Gone Too Far” (#23 1977), “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again” (#9 1978) and “Love Is The Answer,” which was written by Todd Rundgren and peaked at #10 in 1979.

However, Dan Seals was more than a pop singer and when the duo broke up in 1980, Seals headed to Nashville because of his love for country music. As a solo artist, Seals won a CMA Award in 1986 for the cut “Bop” and in that same year scored another CMA Award for vocal duo, teaming up with Marie Osmond for the number one hit “Meet Me In Montana.”

He also scored a top 40 hit in 1983 with the song “Everybody’s Dream Girl” and a top ten hit with “God Must Be a Cowboy” in 1984. After that, Seals scored several #1 country hits including: “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold),” “You Still Move Me,” “Three Time Loser,” “One Friend,” “Big Wheels in the Moonlight,” “Love On Arrival” (all co-written with Bob McDill). He also reached the top of the country charts with “I Will Be There” (by Jennifer Kimball and Tom Snow), “Addicted” by Cheryl Wheeler and “Good Times” by Sam Cooke.

His last hits were in 1990 and subsequent releases fared poorly and he signed on with Warner, releasing four singles from 1991-1994, but none charted past the 43rd position. After leaving Warner, he recorded for Intersound and then on his own label.

Until he got sick, he was working alongside his brother, Jim Seals and they were working as the duo Seals & Seals. They performed some shows and were working on an album, but never got to finish it, although the songs that they did complete will be released at some point in the future.