Appreciating Dan Hill

Music artists live off their hits. One hit song is really all that one needs to build a career that can last a lifetime.  Fans will listen endlessly to that one song and will watch concerts for that chance to relive the memories associated with that song again and again.

The Grammy-winning Canadian singing icon Dan Hill has a great song on which he has built a rock solid career. The big hit from the ’70s era Sometimes When We Touch is that song. I admit that there had been instances when I was on the verge of screaming, no more, please, no more Sometimes When We Touch. Please not again, no more…

With the passing of time though, I learned to really appreciate the song. Its passionate message, “Sometimes when we touch/ the honesty is too much…” its fluid but unpredictable melody, “I wanna hold you till I die/ till we both break down and cry…” the way Dan’s vocals rests easy on the music, “I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides…”. It is a beautiful song and Dan’s is a great recording.

Given the global and I must say, truly over the top popularity of Sometimes When We Touch, there is no question that all that Dan needs to do is to just keep singing the song up to inanity to maintain his successful music career. Parents will keep listening and their kids will doubtless also discover and associate emotions with the song. But I am glad to note that this guy is built of better stuff than that.

I recall a concert that Dan did in Manila some years ago.  He performed with some other artists, his contemporaries from the ’70s. They all had the big hits required to generate a crowd. But there was a difference. Hill’s co-performers have not only very obviously allowed their looks to go to seed, they also could not even get the notes right in their songs. Needless to say, they were terribly disappointing.

Dan though was different. He looked like a star. He was slim, very dapper. He cut a striking figure on stage. He also revealed himself to be quite a performer. In his simple way, he sang beautifully, told stories about his life, cracked jokes and of course, he did Sometimes When We Touch to perfection. It was what the fans came for but he gave them more than that.

I saw that performance as a revelation. Dan is an artist who appreciates his audience. He thinks a lot of them. He likes the fact that they paid good money and came to watch him perform. He makes sure he will not be a disappointment. This is something I have noticed over the years. Dan does not get bad reviews. Something might go wrong during the show but Dan will still win raves for his work. In fact, I know of people who went to his show expecting ho-hum but went home happy and amazed and best of all, became fans.

Watch Dan wield his magic once more in Manila on Feb. 10, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila. The concert is presented by Redstone Media Productions, Inc. and Resorts World, with the Beverly Hills Polo Club as major sponsor and the Midas Hotel And Casino as official residence.

Much as I know most of you love Sometimes When We Touch and that you would all love to listen to Dan perform just that one song, I am sure you will also be glad to find out that, that he has lots more to offer. Dan is a singer/songwriter with a rich catalogue that I am sure, his local fans would just love to rediscover in this show.

I am sure you will enjoy hearing some of his compositions popularized by other artists like the Grammy-winning Seduces Me by Celine Dion, I Do Cherish You, the lovely wedding song recorded by the boyband 98 Degrees or that other over the top hit that he gave to George Benson, In Your Eyes.

I am sure that you will also enjoy his other works, most of them love songs just right for the Valentine season. Can’t We Try that he recorded as a duet with Vonda Shepard, Never Thought (That I Could Love), I Fall All Over Again, You Make Me Want To Be, Daddy’s Song, It’s A Long Road, Let The Song Last Forever, Don’t Tell Me How I Feel, Love Of My Life and many others.

Tickets are available at Ticketworld (891-9999), Ticketnet (911-5555), SM Tickets (470-2222) and at the Resorts World Box Office (908-8000).