In The 1970s Dan Hartman

Dan Hartman was born in Pennsylvania in 1950 and started a life in bands at the tender age of only thirteen. He also later joined the Johnny Winter group and later he would link up with Johnny's brother Edgar Winter group. Other members of the group in 1972 included Ronnie Montrose. Chuck Ruff was the last original member who died in 2011.

The Edgar Winter Groups 1972 album They Only Come Out At Night  had seven tracks written or co-written by Hartman. The song Free Ride was one of those became a U.S. top forty single.

  

The groups hit in the UK was Frankenstein on which Hartman also performed. Dan went solo in 1976 and released several albums. But it was the pull of disco that gave him the big breakthrough in 1978 with Instant Replay. The official video had members of Kiss in it plus Hall And Oates.

      

The 1979 follow up was not as successful. Relight My Fire was a small hit in the U.S. and not a good hit in the UK until years later when Take That with Lulu took it to No. 1.

   

Hit wise for the 1970s that was it. But Dan did have small single success again in the 1980s, and he also went on to work with the likes of Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield and Paul Young.

Dan sold or was responsible for 50 millions records during his career as a writer and singer and producer. At the age of only 43 he died of a brain tumor which itself was caused by the AIDS virus.