A Short Biography of Dan'l

Born Dan McILhenny in Southern, California a long time ago… he penned one of his first songs while serving in Viet Nam with the US Air Force.  It wasn’t long before he had a passel of tunes to share with his audiences and quickly became known for his ballads, story songs and humorous array of witty tunes. As a seasoned songwriter, Dan'l enjoyed commercial success with the long running "Sports Anyone?" jingle, which aired on radio and television. In 1997, two of his songs, "High Sierra" & "You Can, You Can" became music videos exhibited exclusively at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas.

Since the fall of '98, Dan'l has dedicated most of his spare time to producing, writing and entertaining with Mother Nature as his mentor. For example, the John Muir - Tribute CD was a collaborative effort of Jill Harcke and Dan McILhenny. Produced in 1999, it has sold ever since as a fund raiser for the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA. The Tribute CD has been featured on BBC Radio, Scotland, KVMR, Nevada City and Bay Area Backroads, Channel 4, San Francisco.

The summers of 2001 through 2004 found him busy entertaining in the beautiful venues of Yosemite and Sequoia / Kings Canyon National Parks. Dan’l was the featured musical guest for the Centennial Celebration at Le Conte Memorial Lodge hosted by the Sierra Club. He also sang for the Sequoia Natural History Society as part of their Tribute to Naturalist John Muir. The program was held at the Historic Fox Theatre in Visalia, CA and was honored with a national award.

These days Dan’l is learning what life is like in Oregon. He and his wife Val have settled in the Pacific Northwest near Portland. In his spare time, he pitches in as a Board member with the Portland Songwriters Association. As for his music, he just released High Sierra an independently produced retrospective of his early songs from the 70’s and 80’s. Right on the heels of “High Sierra” (Folk/Americana), comes a companion Pop album called “Blissphemy”. “It’s a very exciting time,” says Dan’l, who plans to be back in the studio this year to begin work on a new album.