Dan Seals

DAN SEALS (1948~2009) 丹席爾斯（Dan Seals）用「英格蘭丹」（England Dan）的藝名跟約翰福特寇利（John Ford Coley）搭檔，兩人融合了鄉(xiāng)村與搖滾的抒情曲風(fēng)，在70年代的后半段可說(shuō)是紅透了半邊天，不僅獲得成年歌迷的喜愛(ài)，連青少年也同樣為他們瘋狂。他們陸續(xù)又唱紅了「Nights Are Forever Without You」、「Soldier In The Rain」、「We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again」和「Love Is the Answer」等歌曲。可惜的是，由于無(wú)法繼續(xù)有所突破，這對(duì)搭檔終于在1980年宣告分手。丹席爾斯先是以「英格蘭丹」的名義單飛，推出首張個(gè)人專輯「Stones」，但沒(méi)有引起太多注意。
1981年，他遭到國(guó)稅局欠稅的指控，訴訟的結(jié)果，他幾乎失去了所有的財(cái)產(chǎn)。
1982年，他發(fā)表第二張專輯「Harbinger」，雖然同樣獲得很高的評(píng)價(jià)，銷路卻更慘澹，因此他決定改走鄉(xiāng)村的路線，并且恢復(fù)本名，不過(guò)在調(diào)整風(fēng)格來(lái)適應(yīng)鄉(xiāng)村電臺(tái)口味的同時(shí)，他仍然堅(jiān)持保有原先柔美的招牌，果然開(kāi)始有了起色，接連兩張專輯，都打入鄉(xiāng)村排行前四十名。
1984年，他獲得Capitol唱片的合約，成績(jī)更進(jìn)步，連續(xù)以「(You Bring Out) The Wild Side of Me」和「God Must Be a Cowboy」打進(jìn)鄉(xiāng)村單曲前十名。
1985年，丹席爾斯的好運(yùn)接連來(lái)到，在獲得亞軍的「My Baby's Got Good Timing」和第九名的「My Old Yellow Car」之后，他跟瑪麗奧斯蒙（Marie Osmond）合唱的「Meet Me in Montana」造成了空前的轟動(dòng)，不但首度為他奪下冠軍、揭開(kāi)連續(xù)九首冠軍的序幕，更因而在1986年榮獲鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)協(xié)會(huì)的「年度最佳二重唱」大獎(jiǎng)，就此躋身鄉(xiāng)村歌壇超級(jí)巨星之林，而「Won't Be Blue Anymore」也成了他畢生最成功的錄音室專輯，除了登上鄉(xiāng)村冠軍寶座，還鍍上了白金。 「Won't Be Blue Anymore」專輯帶來(lái)的好運(yùn)還不僅此而已，接在「Meet Me in Montana」之后推出的「Bop」，成了丹席爾斯首度以個(gè)人獨(dú)唱姿態(tài)奪得冠軍的單曲，更在鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)協(xié)會(huì)大獎(jiǎng)奪下「年度最佳單曲」的榮銜。接著，由他親自跟德州同鄉(xiāng)鮑布麥迪爾（Bob McDill）聯(lián)手撰寫(xiě)的「Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)」，探討一個(gè)牛仔競(jìng)技場(chǎng)明星必須面臨獨(dú)自撫養(yǎng)孩子長(zhǎng)大的困擾，同樣也奪下鄉(xiāng)村冠軍。到了這個(gè)時(shí)候，他先前幾乎破產(chǎn)的陰霾一早已掃而空。
1987年的「On the Front Line」專輯帶來(lái)「You Still Move Me」、「I Will Be There」和「Three-Time Loser」等另外三首冠軍。同一年，他推出首張精選集，特別把原先收錄在「San Antone」專輯中的「One Friend」重新錄制，又增添了另外一首冠軍。 丹席爾斯的好運(yùn)持續(xù)來(lái)到。
1988年，他推出「Rage On」專輯，又以「Addicted」和「Big Wheels in the Moonlight」奪下兩個(gè)冠軍。1990年，第八張專輯「On Arrival」的首支單曲「Love on Arrival」奪下連續(xù)三周冠軍，跟在后面發(fā)表的「Good Times」，是翻唱已故黑人歌手山姆庫(kù)克（Sam Cooke）的經(jīng)典，雖然也拿到冠軍，但他的好運(yùn)似乎已經(jīng)接近尾聲，從此他不但跟冠軍絕緣，甚至連前四十名都打不進(jìn)去了。
1991年，在葛司布魯克斯（Garth Brooks）等新生代歌手快速崛起、改變了鄉(xiāng)村歌壇的生態(tài)后，丹席爾斯有點(diǎn)落寞的轉(zhuǎn)移到華納旗下，但推出的五首單曲只有三首進(jìn)榜，而且都沒(méi)有進(jìn)入前四十名，當(dāng)然專輯也無(wú)法上榜。90年代的其余時(shí)間，他只能到處巡回，吸引一些昔日的老歌迷，雖然陸續(xù)出過(guò)幾張專輯，但唱片公司的規(guī)模一家比一家小。到了后來(lái)，連上天也開(kāi)始跟他作對(duì)了，他罹患了「被套細(xì)胞淋巴癌」，開(kāi)始進(jìn)行治療，甚至在2008年十二月接受了干細(xì)胞移植的手術(shù)。2009年三月二十五日，他病逝于女兒的家中，享年六十一歲，令人惋惜。
After scoring several hits as part of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, Dan Seals reinvented himself as a country-pop singer and enjoyed a tremendous run of success during the latter half of the 80s. Born in McCamey, TX, in 1948, his brother was Jim Seals, later of another successful soft rock duo, Seals & Crofts. Both brothers played with their parents in the Seals Family Band, with Dan learning string bass; however, after their parents divorced, Dan spent several years moving around with his mother. They eventually settled in Dallas in 1958, and Seals spent his teen years playing in garage bands, where he first met John Ford Coley. They worked together in a band called the Shimmerers, which recorded some demos in 1965 and became the Southwest F.O.B. two years later, scoring a chart single with The Smell of Incense. Seals and Coley left to form a duo in 1969 and kicked around for a while, landing an early-70s deal with A&M that went sour. They finally hit big in the late 70s, with soft rock touchstones Id Really Love to See You Tonight and Nights Are Forever Without You ranking as their best-known singles.Seals went solo in 1980, signing with Atlantic and keeping the name England Dan for his debut album, Stones. In 1981, he underwent a grueling battle with the IRS that cost him nearly everything he owned. His follow-up album, Harbinger, stiffed, and he turned his attention to country music, adapting his style to fit the demands of country radio while still keeping his signature soft sound. Signed to Liberty/Capitol, he scored a pair of Top Ten hits on the country charts in 1984 with (You Bring Out) The Wild Side of Me and God Must Be a Cowboy. My Old Yellow Car and My Babys Got Good Timing had similar success in 1985, and his next single, a duet with Marie Osmond called Meet Me in Montana, went all the way to number one. It also kicked off a spectacular run of nine straight chart-toppers: 1986 brought Bop and Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold); 1987 saw I Will Be There, Three Time Loser, and You Still Move Me; 1988 featured Addicted and One Friend; and 1989 gave him one more in Big Wheels in the Moonlight. Not only that, he managed two more number ones in 1990, thanks to Good Times and Love on Arrival. However, the arrival of Garth Brooks abruptly changed the country landscape, and Seals found his style out of favor. He moved to Warner Brothers in 1991, without much success, and despite releasing a few recordings on smaller labels in the latter half of the 90s, he was effectively a touring artist for the remainder of the decade.