Davis Daniel

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Davis Daniel
Birth nameRobert Andrykowski
Born (1961-03-01) March 1, 1961 (age 63)[1]
OriginArlington Heights, Illinois, U.S.
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • Songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1990–2001
Labels

Robert Andrykowski (born March 1, 1961) is an American country music artist who records under the name Davis Daniel. Between 1991 and 1996, he recorded three studio albums on various divisions of Mercury Records: 1991's Fighting Fire with Fire, 1994's Davis Daniel, and 1995's I Know a Place. In that same time span, seven of his singles entered the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including the Top 40 hits "Picture Me", "For Crying Out Loud" and "Fighting Fire with Fire."

Biography[edit]

Robert Andrykowski was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, on March 1, 1961. Over time, his family moved to Nebraska, and subsequently to Denver, Colorado.[1][2]

As a teenager, he found work singing at various nightclubs throughout Denver, Colorado. By the late 1980s, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, eventually adopting the stage name Davis Daniel and landing a record deal with Mercury/Polygram Records in 1991 with the help of his music producer Ron Haffkine.[3]

Fighting Fire with Fire was issued that year. It produced four singles on the country charts: "Picture Me" at number 28, followed by "For Crying Out Loud" at number 13, the title track at number 27 and "Still Got a Crush on You" at number 48.[4] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating, comparing Daniel's vocal technique to that of Keith Whitley and saying that he showed promise in carrying on in Whitley's tradition.[5]

Daniel's second album, the self-titled Davis Daniel, followed in 1994 on Polydor Records. Its singles, "I Miss Her Missing Me," "William and Mary" and "Tyler," all peaked outside the top 40 in the United States, although "Tyler" reached number 39 on the RPM charts in Canada. "I Miss Her Missing Me" had been released by Mercury, which had originally planned to release the album in 1993 under the title Undeniable before Mercury underwent a management change that resulted in Daniel moving to Polydor.[6] Cub Koda of Allmusic gave the album three stars out of five, saying, "there's enough good stuff here to make you think that he might develop into something more than a one-shot artist."[7] New Country magazine's Michael McCall gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, praising the lyrics of "Tyler" and "Out Here Sits the King", but criticizing the other songs for lacking substance.[8]

For his third album, Daniel moved to A&M Records. This album, I Know a Place, was released in 1996. Its lead-off single "I'm Not Listening Anymore" was part of a "Mystery Artist" contest on Country Music Television (CMT), which showed two versions of the song's music video: one where Daniel's face was obscured, and another where it was shown plainly.[9] This single did not enter the charts.

After his third album, Daniel mostly stayed at home with his wife and children. He resumed touring in 2001 with a band called Big Heart, and released a new single called "Is It Just Me?"[10][11]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country
[12]
US Heat CAN Country
[13]
Fighting Fire with Fire 54 26 19
Davis Daniel
  • Release date: October 4, 1994
  • Label: Polydor Nashville
  • Format: CD, cassette
I Know a Place
  • Release date: June 18, 1996
  • Label: A&M Nashville
  • Format: CD, cassette
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles[edit]

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country
[14]
CAN Country
[15]
1991 "Picture Me" 28 Fighting Fire with Fire
"For Crying Out Loud" 13 21
1992 "Fighting Fire with Fire" 27 44
"Still Got a Crush on You" 48 76
1994 "I Miss Her Missing Me" 74 Davis Daniel
"William and Mary" 64
1995 "Tyler" 58 39
1996 "I'm Not Listening Anymore" I Know a Place
2001 "Is It Just Me?"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos[edit]

Year Video Director
1991 "Picture Me"[16] Michael Merriman
"For Crying Out Loud"[17]
1992 "Fighting Fire with Fire"[18] Marc Ball
"Still Got a Crush on You"
1994 "I Miss Her Missing Me"[19] Michael Merriman
1995 "Tyler"[20] Bill Young, Jim Barham
1996 "I'm Not Listening Anymore"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Harris, Craig. "Davis Daniel biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  2. ^ "Davis Daniel biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  3. ^ "Picks and Pans Review". No 26. No. Vol 35. People Magazine. 7 August 1991. {{cite news}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  5. ^ Nash, Alanna (22 November 1991). "Fighting Fire with Fire review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  6. ^ Morris, Edward (February 4, 1995). "Polydor's Davis Daniel hits chord with breakthrough single". Billboard. pp. 38, 40.
  7. ^ Koda, Cub. "Davis Daniel review". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  8. ^ McCall, Michael (March 1995). "Album reviews". New Country. 2 (4): 61–62.
  9. ^ Price, Deborah Evans (18 May 1996). "Mystery Artist contest is A&M's key for Daniel". Billboard. pp. 28–29.
  10. ^ Henson, Tom (17 January 2001). "Big Heart teams up with Davis Daniel and hits the road". The Greenville Leader. pp. A1, A9. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Davis Daniel". Ford Entertainment. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Davis Daniel Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  13. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Country Albums". RPM. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  14. ^ "Davis Daniel Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  15. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Country Singles". RPM. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  16. ^ "CMT : Videos : Davis Daniel : Picture Me". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  17. ^ "CMT : Videos : Davis Daniel : For Crying Out Loud". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  18. ^ "CMT : Videos : Davis Daniel : Fighting Fire With Fire". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  19. ^ "CMT : Videos : Davis Daniel : I Miss Her Missing Me". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  20. ^ "CMT : Videos : Davis Daniel : Tyler". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.