Danny Dean

"Santa Bring My Baby Back To  Me," "Take Me Back Again," "Clouds" online single

(Self-issued)

In their 1965 Yes I Can best-seller chronicling legendary performer Sammy Davis, Jr, Jane and Burt Boyer wrote that American icon Frank Sinatra seemed all-but oblivious to music that accompanied his impossibly-assured delivery. They extolled Ol' Blue Eyes' rendering of selections with an innate melodiousness that was proclaimed with striding independence. He sang his way.

Similar commendation can be accorded to singer/guitarist Danny Dean. So possessed of technical prodigiousness and natural smoothness is he, that the man enjoys rightful ranking with Rockat Dibbs Preston and sadly departed luminary Robert Gordon.

Today based in Nashville, Danny recorded and barnstormed in California's shambolic late-1970s Punk mileau. The renown in which he now basks had its genesis then. His adroitness as both songwriter and onstage presence earned him a following that endures todayu.

The three songs on this just-issued, online single were culled from discs Danny recorded in the 2000s, when he was fronting Danny Dean and the Homewreckers. In that swinging, suit-and-tie Rockabilly enterprise, he was joined by bass-guitar grandmaster Gavin D. Jones. Gavin's sprightly navigations do much to spur this material, whether it's direct and infectious (like the cover of Elvis's 1957 Santa ditty) or ambitious in intent.

That last characterization befits "Take Me Back Again" and "Clouds." In both, Danny undertakes interpretations that demand range beyond lesser singers' grasps. That he is resoundingly successful and seems poised in his toil illustrates the indisputable artistic merit of the man.  

(I'd be remiss in failing to note another Frank Sinatra link: For a time, Danny Dean and the Homewreckers' personnel included erstwhile Sinatra sideman, late saxophonist Bob Crail. Bob's flourishes were apt complements to Danny's merry sweep.) 

Video: "Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me"

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