Daniel Lee Toler (September 23, 1948 – February 25, 2013), known professionally as "Dangerous" Dan Toler, was an American guitarist.

Life and career

A native of

Connersville, Indiana Connersville is a city in Fayette County, east central Indiana, United States, east by southeast of Indianapolis. The population was 13,481 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated town in F ...

, Toler became popular in the late 1970s as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern. He was featured on the albums '' Dickey Betts & Great Southern'' and ''

Atlanta's Burning Down ''Atlanta's Burning Down'' is the third studio album by Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded with his band Great Southern in late 1977, and released in early 1978. The standout tracks are "Good Time Feeling" and "Atlanta's Bur ...

''. He went on to become a member of

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

with Betts from 1979–1982 appearing on '' Enlightened Rogues'' (1979), ''Reach for the Sky'' (1980) and '' Brothers of the Road'' (1981). Toler and his brother David (Frankie) Toler were members of the

Gregg Allman Band The Gregg Allman Band, also known as Gregg Allman & Friends, was a Southern rock/blues rock group that Gregg Allman established and had led since the 1970s, during periods when Allman has been recording and performing separate from the Allman Br ...

in the 1980s,Tobler, John (1991) ''Who's Who in Rock & Roll'', Crescent Books, , p. 1958 featuring hit album ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...

'' 1987 and '' Just Before The Bullets Fly'' 1988 as well as a reformed version of Great Southern in the 2000s. Prior to rejoining Great Southern, Toler had not spoken to Betts in over 10 years. Dan experimented with jazz fusion multi-instrumentalist Mark Pettey in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

in the early 1990s, recording a short demo, and performing live shows in the Tampa Bay area. Mark and Dan continued to collaborate on jazz influenced projects together. Toler, John Townsend, Toler's brother David (Frankie) Toler, Bruce Waibel and Mark Pettey created the Townsend Toler Band in the early 1990s, starting with a demo cut in Telstar Studios in Sarasota. This was followed by tours of the eastern United States, including shows in New York City and up and down the east coast. He later joined The Renegades of Southern Rock, whose members included

George McCorkle George McCorkle (October 11, 1946 – June 29, 2007) was a founding member and guitarist for the Marshall Tucker Band. He wrote " Fire on the Mountain", the band's first top 40 hit, though had hoped that Charlie Daniels would record the song. He l ...

(formerly of

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. W ...

), John Townsend (

Sanford-Townsend Band The Sanford-Townsend Band was a rock and roll band that scored a hit single in 1977 with "Smoke from a Distant Fire". History The Sanford-Townsend Band featured keyboardists Ed Sanford (from Montgomery, Alabama) and Johnny Townsend (from Tusc ...

), John McKnight, Jack Hall (

Wet Willie Wet Willie is an American band from Mobile, Alabama. Their best-known song, " Keep On Smilin'", reached No. 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in August 1974. Several other of the group's songs also appeared on the singles charts in the ...

), and Taylor Caldwell. In 2007 Toler performed on

Jason Black Jason Douglas Black (born August 15, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He is a veteran of the King of the Cage, UFC, and PRIDE Fighting Championships organizations, a ...

's ''Mind Over Matter'' album. Two years later, Toler once again teamed up with John Townsend to form the Toler/Townsend Band. Their self-titled album was released in 2009 on the European Blues Boulevard/music avenue label. The Toler/Townsend Band CD was later released in the United States by Garage Door Records. In 2011, Toler formed The Toler–Tucci Band, which was scheduled to release their debut album, ''Doc's Hideaway'', in August 2012. Verceal Whitaker of

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

was the featured vocalist on that project.

Personal life

Toler had battled

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

(ALS) and died in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

on February 25, 2013. He was 64.

References

External links

Official website
*
Toler/Townsend Band

Music Legends Interview with Dan Toler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toler, Dan 1948 births 2013 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists The Allman Brothers Band members Neurological disease deaths in Florida Deaths from motor neuron disease People from Connersville, Indiana Guitarists from Indiana 20th-century American guitarists