Dan Troxell is one of only two instrumentalists (the other being steel guitar player Curt Shoemaker) who still releases recordings which include newer song titles performed in arrangements particularly appropriate for inclusion in the Easy Listening genre. Today, the best place to hear this style music is on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Escape channel.
Not long ago I received a message from Dan, saying he had finally gotten down “to your book … Radio, my Love, my Passion.” Then, Dan went on to write:
Remember you said a “Concerto for Piano and Drums” sounded insane? Well I have read enough “autobiographies” to not always expect much … lots of typos, lots of fluff, and usually nothing of great interest. I knew you as a broadcast giant, but not as a great writer … Marlin, you are BOTH!
I think it helped that you have SO MUCH history and information, and it helped that our age and interest in music is not all that dissimilar. It was especially fun to track my ten years younger life with yours; for instance, the day you moved back to “Beantown” (to join Boston’s soon-to-be-brand-new station, WJIB) was quite likely the day I was at a Freshmen dance mixer my first week in college. When you were busy in the 80s running all over the country … Los Angeles to Spokane to New York… I was entertainment director (and featured pianist) for the five-star Ritz-Carlton in southern California.
And, all the stories about John Fox, Norrie Paramor, Richard Clayderman, Lex, Hansi and, of course, Roger Williams, whom I knew, and on and on … fascinating! Maybe, especially to me, because I listen to Escape chapter and verse and know all what’s being played. As I have told you, I am very proud of the musical company I keep (to this day) on “Escape”. You did me a great service introducing me there and, to his credit, the new program director — at least so far — continues to add many of my newer titles and continues to play the ones you selected as well. Of course, I wish he would play them more often!
My recently finished and now available CD is called “The Look of Love.” Funny, whenever I select songs to record, I always think of the Easy Listening format … familiar beloved melodies, played from the heart, relaxing but won’t put you to sleep. It was my formula for song selection (and arrangement and performance) for the Ritz-Carlton hotels (think “high tea” or cocktail hour in the lobby lounge) where I played for many years in the 80s and 90s, as well as gift shops across the land which offered my recordings. My account manager at CD manufacturer Discmakers just E-mailed to tell me he was leaving the company after 31 years! He pointed out that I had made over 80 CDs with him in those 31 years. (“The Look of Love” is Dan’s 83rd … with his first releases coming in the early 1990s — and he’s already beginning work on # 84!)
Another thing I kept noticing in your book was the theme of “Being born with it.” How you had the gift of listening … a professional “listener.” How true! I imagine you “became” your listener when you put on your “selection” hat…. a housewife doing laundry, a couple driving through the country side on vacation, having dinner, humming along, enjoying the familiar melody, right in the “Goldie Locks” zone, not too fast nor slow, not too schmoozy or jumpy…. designed to be pleasant and bring a smile … loved your “comfort food for the ears” slogan. I do the same when I record: I hear the original singers’ voice in my head. I just finished “Wichita Lineman”… got to hear Glen Campbell when he was younger and chat with him at a “meet and greet.” The ladies LOVED him!
If you are not familiar with Dan’s music and wish to sample his playing, give a listen now … here’s the just-mentioned “Wichita Lineman” and the album’s title song:
And your steady drumbeat of persistence, having a plan, guerilla (when needed) tactics, follow through. Marlin, I don’t know if you can teach that… it might come from growing up in countryside Pennsylvania. Most likely something or someone put a little “burr” under your saddle that drove you to succeed … fortunately, like me, you loved what you did which made it so much more easier and enjoyable. I have always said I could sell my music, but don’t ask me to sell paperclips!
Thank you for your friendship Marlin, especially now that I know “the rest of the story.” It is an honor to share thoughts with you. As I regularly say: “Thank You Lord and Thank You Marlin Taylor!”
~ Dan Troxell
Now that Dan has shared his reaction to reading about my radio career and life, plus told about a number of his accomplishments and successes as well, let me share some details you won’t find on his Dan Troxell website about the years leading up to his professional life.
First, we both grew up in Pennsylvania … only at opposite ends of the state. While, as you likely know, my growing up years were spent not very many miles from where I now live — in Newtown and Feasterville in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just a short distance north of Philadelphia — in the southeastern portion of the state. Dan’s early, formative years occurred in the village of Sugar Grove in Warren County, in the extreme northwestern corner of the state, about 50 miles southeast of Erie.
Dan comes from a family of eight, many of whom are musical, and he holds degrees from the Sherwood Music School, Valparaiso University, and has done graduate work at the University of Southern California. However, Dan’s musical training had began long before that schooling. You see, on what would seem perfect timing, a lady who was a classically-trained and skilled pianist moved to their area from New York. While an accomplished artist, when it came time to begin performing in public, she developed a severe case of stage-fright … and soon moved to Warren County and became the wife of a dairy farmer!
Dan shares that her talents did not go to waste, as she took on a number of students who demonstrated a genuine aptitude for playing. This included Daniel, who wasn’t very old before he was learning numerous classical melodies. And, she even encouraged him to begin creating his own arrangements and entered him in every musical talent show in the area. At age 10, he took part in a children’s talent show broadcast on a Buffalo, New York, TV station, playing the Warsaw Concerto.
When he is not performing or recording, he enjoys traveling, playing golf, sky sailing, and is an avid reader as well as a gourmet cook.
While a few of Dan’s recordings include instrumentation accompanying his playing, most are strictly solo piano. I tell you this because, prior to coming upon Dan’s CD’s, seldom was I inclined to include in my programming pure solo piano selections … they just didn’t seem to fit our overall structure. However, after listening to a couple of his albums, my feelings changed, especially as related to many of his arrangements.
Finally, Dan claims he never mailed any sample CD’s to SiriusXM or me until I asked him. Yet, neither my wife nor I ever searched out or bought his CD’s in gift shops — a friend or fan must have introduced his recordings to me.
P.S. Phoenix … a Concerto for Piano and Drums is found on Dan’s “Come Sail Away” disc.
P.P.S. This hurting world can never have too much love … through Music or otherwise!
