Does anyone know what happened to Mel McDaniel? I found out that answer. McDaniel passed away last year on March 31st. The Grand Ole Opry star died after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. The singer, whose biggest hits included 'Stand Up,' 'Louisiana Saturday Night' and the 1984 No. 1, 'Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On,' was born in Checotah, Okla., which is also the birthplace of Carrie Underwood.
He was the son of a truck driving father and he was inspired to pursue music after seeing Elvis Presley perform. He taught himself a few guitar chords at the age of 14 and performed at a high-school talent contest. He made his professional debut at age fifteen performing in a talent contest at Okmulgee High School. While in high school, he played in several local bands. Soon after graduation, began working as a musician in Tulsa clubs. While in Tulsa, he recorded several singles for local label (J.J. Cale) and wrote and produced his first single, “Lazy Me”. After marrying his high school sweetheart, McDaniel began performing in Tulsa. However, he decided to leave Oklahoma.. He moved to Nashville for a brief period of time in 1969, just before he relocated to Alaska in 1971, where he played the club scene in Anchorage. After two years there, he returned to Nashville and landed a job as a demo singer and songwriter with Combine Music. With the help of music publisher Bob Beckham, Mel was signed to contract at Capitol Records in 1976 and he released his first single, “Have a Dream on Me”. After five years, his career finally took off with “Louisiana Saturday Night” in 1981. Then in early 1985 he scored his only #1 hit with "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On". His other Top 10 hits during his career include "Right in the Palm of Your Hand" (later covered by Alan Jackson in 1999), "Take Me to the Country", "Big Ole Brew", "I Call It Love", and "Real Good Feel Good Song". Several more hits followed and then on January 11, 1986, at the age of 44, Mel McDaniel was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and made frequent appearances on the show.McDaniel was also inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
On November 14, 1996, he survived a nearly fatal fall into an unmarked orchestra pit while he was performing at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. That is what ended his touring career and he underwent several surgeries thereafter. Although he did continued to record and perform, McDaniel never fully recovered from his injuries. In 2006, McDaniel released an album entitled 'Reloaded.' He suffered a heart attack in June 2009 and was in a medically-induced coma.
On February 19, 2011, McDaniel entered into the hospital where the singer was diagnosed with stage 3 terminal lung cancer. This news came just one day after McDaniel had finished the recording of his final album, which is titled 'The Last Ride.' He died at his home on the evening of March 31, 2011 as a result of the disease. He was 68.
May Mel McDaniel rest in peace and be in a much happier place. Deepest condolences go out to all his wife (Peggy), and the rest of his family, friends and his fans.
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_McDaniel
http://www.theboot.com/2011/04/01/mel-mcdaniel-dead/
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