Daron Jay Norwood (September 30, 1965 – July 22, 2015) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. He released two albums for

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

and charted six times on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

Musical career

Signed to

in 1993, he released two albums (1994's ''

Daron Norwood Daron Jay Norwood (September 30, 1965 – July 22, 2015) was an American country music singer. He released two albums for Giant Records and charted six times on Hot Country Songs. Musical career Signed to Giant Records in 1993, he released tw ...

'' and 1995's '' Ready, Willing and Able'') for the label and charted six singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

charts. Two singles off his debut album, " If It Wasn't For Her I Wouldn't Have You" and "

Cowboys Don't Cry "Cowboys Don't Cry" is a song recorded by American country music artist Dude Mowrey. It was the only single from his 1991 debut album ''Honky Tonk''. Mowrey's version charted at number 65 on the Hot Country Songs chart that year. The song was writt ...

", both made the country Top 40. The title track of his second album was later a Top 20 hit in 1996 for

Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition ...

. In late 1994, Norwood co-wrote and sang "Little Boy Lost" on the

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, T ...

album '' Keith Whitley: A Tribute Album'', a tribute to

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death. ...

which featured a mix of original songs, covers of Whitley's material, and new compositions. Norwood also sang "Working Elf Blues" on the 1995 multi-artist album ''Giant Country Christmas, Volume 1''.

Personal life

On November 5, 1995, Norwood decided to retire because of his addiction to alcohol. He told the ''Lubbock-Avalanche Journal'' that during that time period, he consumed 20 to 25 shots of

Jack Daniel's Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" T ...

a night. Norwood also served as a motivational speaker. His program, called "Keep It Straight", was developed to warn children of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Daron married Suella McCarty on July 5, 2009. Together they had children Krista, Delaney, Roxy, and Daylan. Norwood was found dead in his

Hereford, Texas Hereford ( ) is a city in and county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo. Its population was 15,370 at the 2010 census. It is the only incorporated locality named "Hereford" in the country. Heref ...

, apartment by his landlord on the afternoon of July 22, 2015. The

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reported he was last seen the previous night by friends. Hereford police spokesperson, Capt. Kirsten Williams, stated on July 23 that Norwood's body showed no signs of trauma and that investigators did not suspect foul play. Williams further stated that cause of death was still pending.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norwood, Daron 1965 births 2015 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Giant Records (Warner) artists People from Tahoka, Texas American motivational speakers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers People from Hereford, Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers