John Daniel "Danny" Tate (born November 10, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, and former Virgin Records recording artist, best known for penning songs covered by

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, The Smithereens, Diesel, Nelson, David Lee Murphy,

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, Doro Pesch, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Patti LaBelle, Walk the West, Cactus Brothers, Carla Olson, Danny Wilde and many others. Most notably, Tate won the NSAI Rock Song of the Year award for 1998, 1999 and 2000. His start came when he co-wrote the 1983 multi-platinum hit, " Affair of the Heart", by Rick Springfield. He released three solo albums, ''Danny Tate'' Charisma/Virgin (1992), ''Nobody's Perfect'' Charisma/Virgin (1995), and ''Destination X'' Noville Records (2005), meeting limited success and continued his career writing songs, composing for television shows, (''Extra!'', ''Entertainment Tonight'', '' The Tyra Banks Show'', ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'') and contributing to the film soundtracks of ''

3000 Miles to Graceland ''3000 Miles to Graceland'' is a 2001 American heist black action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Demian Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein co-wrote the script with Richard Recco. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courte ...

'', ''Boys Don't Cry'', and ''

How to Make an American Quilt ''How to Make an American Quilt'' is a 1995 American drama film based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Whitney Otto. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film features Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Nelligan and Alfre Wo ...

''.

Associated acts

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, The Warren Brothers, Doro Pesch,

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, The Smithereens, Rick Springfield,

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, Diesel,

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, Nelson, Béla Fleck,

The Rembrandts The Rembrandts are an American alternative rock duo, formed by Danny Wilde and Phil Solem in 1989. They had previously worked together as members of Great Buildings in 1981. The Rembrandts are best known for the song " I'll Be There for You", ...

, Danny Johnson, John Brannen, and

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Early life

John Daniel Tate was born on November 10, 1955 to David Munroe Tate Jr. and Hazel Ella Tate in Beaumont, Texas. At 6 years old, Tate's family moved to Camden, Arkansas where his father, a music minister, accepted a position at a new church. There, he spent his formative years absorbing the musical and religious influences of a classic small town setting. In 1974, Tate left home to attend college, where he studied under the renowned composer and conductor, William Francis McBeth. Tate graduated Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities and is a member of Mensa. In 1989 Governor Bill Clinton appointed Tate "Arkansas Traveler"-Ambassador of Good Will.

Career

After graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition in 1978, Tate found work as a solo performer for the High School Assembly Service out of Chicago, Illinois. Touring continuously on a grueling schedule, Tate performed a combination of popular radio hits, his own songs, and told stories in a one-man show designed for High School students. From 1978 to 1980, Tate performed 600 shows in 3 semesters and had the most successful ratings and sales in the Service's 50-year history. Later in 1980, Tate moved to Nashville with intentions of making a name for himself in the music industry. His big break came when a friend cornered Rick Springfield in a club restroom and handed him a cassette tape of Tate's song "Superman" which immediately caught Springfield's ear. Tate wrote off the exchange as an impossible probability until he received a phone call from Springfield's manager, who requested the use of a substantial and extremely infectious part of the song. After a melding of minds, the writers came up with the co-written song which morphed into the runaway hit, Affair of the Heart. Springfield's recording of the song peaked at #9 on Billboard charts, the album Living in Oz went platinum, and the song was nominated for a Grammy (losing to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (Michael Jackson album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a ...

Solo career

Riding on his success, Tate moved to Los Angeles where he felt his talents would be more profitable as a pop/rock songwriter. He then embarked on a solo career releasing Danny Tate (1992), Nobody’s Perfect (1995) followed up with the "Dreamin'" tour featuring Danny Johnson formerly with Rick Derringer, Rod Stewart and the Troggs on guitar, and Destination X (2005). In 2005, Tate also released a Christmas Single entitled, "''Wonder what Jesus thinks about Christmas,''" offering a clever and unexpected examination of the Christmas holiday.

Movie credits

*''

'' (1995) *''Boys Don't Cry'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''The Black Dove'' (not yet released)

Television credits

Enjoying uncommon success as a songwriter in a variety of musical genres, spanning pop, rock, country, alternative, heavy metal, and blues, Tate expanded his resume' to include musical cues and underscore for television shows. His compositions have been featured on

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

Extra! ''Extra!'' is a monthly magazine of media criticism published by the media watch group FAIR. First published in 1987, its first full-time editor was Martin A. Lee. Since 1990, it has been edited by Jim Naureckas. The magazine covers a wide vari ...

, TMZ, Celebrity Justice, The Insider,

, The Tyra Banks Show, The Bachelor,

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

, and

Judge Mathis ''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist. The courtroom series prem ...

Awards

NSAI Rock Song of the Year 1998, 1999, 2000 BMI #1 Awards Multiple Platinum and Gold Records “Only an artist of rare talent, intelligence, and instinct could achieve the kind of lasting success that Tate has enjoyed"—Vincent Jeffries (VH1.com)

References

External links

* http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tate-p22061 * https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Tate/e/B000APXS1I * http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/tate_danny/artist.jhtml {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Danny 1955 births People from Beaumont, Texas Living people Mensans Songwriters from Texas