Dan Hartman

I didn't know until earlier this year, that he wrote and sang lead vocal on "Free Ride".

He had another hit with Instant Replay.

Instant Replay was a BIG dance hit in the clubs! Everyone loved it!

R1 finding out this now. And I'm feeling just as amazed as when i found out that Gerry Rafferty sang lesd on Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealer's Wheel

Relight My Fire was my jam

"I Can Dream About You" released when I was eighteen. I still love that song.

Yeah, I knew of him for his disco hits, so it never occurred to me that he was closeted. And I never realized he was the same guy who sang "I Can Dream About You."

Looking at his Wiki page now, my goodness he was diverse...working with everyone from Edgar Winter to Holly Johnson to James Brown to the Plasmatics, to name but a few. He had an incredible career as a performer, writer, and producer for someone who died at only 43.

He wrote and produce Loleatta Hollaway's "Love Sensation."

"I Can Dream About You" was in the film Streets of Fire with the hot Michael Pare.

He was the bass player in the Edgar Winter group, as well

He co-wrote Living in America.

Dan Hartman also co-produced "The Best" for Tina Turner (and much of her Foreign Affair album.)

Instant Replay was a big hit in 1990 for a boyband called Yell! who were managed by Simon Cowell, that guy who used to be on Pop Idol/X Factor.

There was some controversy at the time that the guys claimed to be a lot younger than they are.

Take That and Lulu's cover of Relight My Fire was a huge hit and cemented their gaybaiting status.

Dan Hartman also produced some of Dusty's songs on her Reputation album and Holly Johnson's anal sex analogy Love Train.

Wonder what was on his Ipod.

My wife was involved in touring with Dan following his unexpected top ten hit I Can  Dream About You circa 84 - 85.

MCA hastily put together a band to support live dates, Dan made two more videos for MTV which of course was in it's heyday... and toured in Europe and a few dates in the US to support his solo album.

At that stage Dan was not actively pursuing a solo career.  He had formed a songwriting partnership with a fellow named Charlie Midnight, which was going well, and was probably more lucrative and less of a headache than going solo.  Also, his dance hits and his years with Edgar Winter created confusion in his fan base,.. was his disco? metal? etc..... Labels wanted to pigeonhole you and Dan, having spent years in the business was in his mid 30s and I doubt wanted to play any games. Gay male performers were still under the radar in 1984, despite Elton, Boy George, .... labels really wanted none of that.

Dan was phenomenally gifted, and really could do it all, and tailoring a song for another artist was a gift few in the music biz could match.

The few times I was with Dan socially, he was a complete gentleman.  Generous to a fault, comp tickets to see Chaka Kahn in London, picking up the dinner tab...having us out to his home in Connecticut .NO substance abuse issues were ever spoken of.

He was going with a fellow who was either in law or finance.  He was not introduced as a boyfriend or partner.. it was not necessary.    nothing was closeted about Dan, he was completely comfortable in his own skin, but sexuality was your own business and in a mixed gathering , just not talked about.  He didn't have boys hanging around, any cliches you might conjure up about a  gay 80s rocker.   I think in his heart, he was a child of the 50s with a very strong work ethic. He was very kind to his younger sister, who I believed managed his calendar.

Neither follow up singles charted well enough to put out another solo album,... that is my hunch anyway. Dan quickly had success penning Jame Brown Living in America and so he was off in that direction working with other acts.

My wife did not keep up with him, as he used studio musicians and I don't think he ever performed as a live rock act again....

My takeaway, Dan was generous to a fault, driven to succeed, but happy to share success with others. If he had lived, he would have been out and a big part of the emerging gay movement in the music biz.

R15 - Great info. Thanks!

R15

Thank you for that background. Great to learn so much about him.

Loleatta Hollaway did the backing vocals on Vertigo/Relight My Fire. As other people have mentioned, it's probably one of the best and most popular disco songs ever. Depending on which mix, it could be 12 solid minutes of dancing magic.

I thought he transitioned, changed his name to Lisa, and married Clint Black.

Too bad his 80s career never took off. He was a great live performer.

Charlie Midnight speaks about his relationship with Dan at approx 12:00 / His recollection of the BREAKIN soundtrack having a hit single for Dan is of course very funny and in retrospect shows you Dan's gift to pitch a song, anticipate trends, etc. He and Charlie were really a throwback to the Brill Building era...

I have Dan's hit singles and knew that he died young but had no idea that he was gay until now. What a talented guy!! Rest In Peace.......

OP, I always thought a black man sang that song thanks to Streets of Fire.

Really great memories of his music. I truly appreciate the inside information posted here. Thanks so much. Truly, what a loss. He’d probably have been such a positive force in the biz had he lived.

R15 Thank you for sharing that! What a great story, and such a great guy. Thanks again.

is the singer of I Can Dream About You being black or white... ? this wiki entry goes into great detail about why the confusion ..

There should be a series about his life. He had quite an experience.

great thread; danced to Relight My Fire for months in the clubs

And Loleatta, what a voice

As a songwriter "Love Sensation" is probably his most enduring and lucrative composition. It has been sampled for No. 1 hits in the U.S. ( "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark) and globally ("Ride On Time" by Black Box).

He also wrote, with Charlie Midnight, my favorite Sheena Easton song. "When The Lightning Strikes" was produced by Nile Rodgers and it was not a hit but I love it.

Dan covers Gene Piney in 1982 .......Howard Greenfield, who was openly gay, reportedly wrote this song about his frequent collaborator, Neil Sedaka, whom he secretly loved. Dan Hartman was drawn to this song for similar reasons. The lyrics take on a new meaning with this knowledge. (comment from a Youtube post)

[quote] There should be a series about his life. He had quite an experience.

I'm on it! In talks with Cody Fern and Evan Peters as I type.

Mr. Murphy, don't forget Beanie Feldstein! She can play the dream girl in OP's video with the big hair.

Sorry, meant Evan's peter.

Joyce Hyser is in the video for ICDAY. She was Warren Beatty's girl, right before Madonna.

"Free Ride" sounded spectacular on "Sounds Spectacular".

R33 she was also Bruce Springsteen’s girl.

If you love Dan Hartman, give this a listen. Beautiful, contemplative music. Like nothing we heard from him before.

Just as genius, and able to change direction seemingly so effortlessly.

"New Green Clear Blue is the seventh and final studio album by American musician and songwriter Dan Hartman, released by Private Music in 1989. The album represented a big stylistic departure for Hartman; it consists of instrumental, ambient songs, with the concept of being a journey into the subconscious. New Green Clear Blue was written, performed, engineered and produced entirely by Hartman."

If Dan were alive they'd be doing a PBS tribute special a la David Foster.....trotting out all the old acts! that would make him laugh.

I've heard it hundreds of times, but Instant Replay still, well, sparks joy. Even the album cover is a treat.

Instant Reply and Relight My Fire seem like great songs about telling the guy to fuck you again right after he finished the first time....... HOT!

So weird I was just looking up Dan Hartman’s discography earlier this week, OP. Not sure why he popped in my head. Have they used I Can Dream About You in a commercial or TV show recently?

He was cute.

A little homely, but his personality was great

Definitely a cutie.

Is R15 a straight dude on the DL?

The more I read about Dan, the sadder I am that he’s gone. I barely knew who he was a short while ago. 😢

We still have Leo Sayer.

There's a pic of him from I think 92. I wonder if there are any others from around that time. I always wondered what his last few years were like.