England Dan & John Ford Coley
| Company type | Musical duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas , United States |
| Products | Soft rock music, albums, singles |
| Website | www |
England Dan & John Ford Coley were a soft rock pair from the United States, consisting of Dan Seals and John Ford Coley, who were active during the 1970s. Originating from Texas, they gained widespread recognition for their 1976 hit single "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", which climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and secured the top position on the Adult Contemporary chart. Following their split, Seals pursued a prosperous career in country music throughout the 1980s, achieving 11 No. 1 hits in that genre.
Early years
Dan Seals and John Ford Coley first met as classmates at W. W. Samuell High School in Dallas, Texas, where they formed a friendship. Their early musical ventures included playing in local cover bands such as Playboys Five and Theze Few before moving on to record demos under the name The Shimmerers in Nashville; however, their progress was interrupted due to the untimely death of their producer. Subsequently, they became members of the Dallas-based pop/psychedelic band Southwest F.O.B., whose work was eventually reissued by Sundazed Music.
Dan Seals was the younger sibling of Jim Seals, known for being part of the 1970s soft rock duo Seals and Crofts. The nickname "England Dan" originated from Dan’s fondness for the British group The Beatles and his occasional British-style accent. John Colley altered his surname to "Coley" to simplify pronunciation and adopted "Ford" as a middle name for better flow, resulting in the stage name England Dan and John Ford Coley.
While performing within Texas’s music circuit, Southwest F.O.B. achieved moderate success with their single "The Smell of Incense," which peaked at No. 56 on the pop charts in 1968. The band shared stages with notable groups like Led Zeppelin. At the same time, Seals and Coley formed an acoustic duo initially called Colley and Wayland, later rebranded as England Dan & John Ford Coley. They secured a contract with A&M Records in 1970 and moved to Los Angeles in 1971, where they opened for various prominent bands. Their first significant breakthrough came in 1972 with "Simone," which topped charts in Japan and charted in France, although it did not enter US charts.
Big Tree and peak success
Following their departure from A&M Records in 1972 after releasing two albums, the duo discovered "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", penned by Mississippi songwriter Parker McGee. They recorded a demo version and presented it to Bob Greenberg, senior vice president at Atlantic Records. When Greenberg declined to sign them, Doug Morris—founder of Big Tree Records, an Atlantic subsidiary—overheard the track and offered them a deal.
Working alongside producer Kyle Lehning, who had also produced McGee's demo, they achieved a No. 2 hit in the US by September 1976, with sales reaching two million copies. Their debut album on Big Tree, Nights Are Forever (released July 1976), also produced by Lehning, included another McGee composition that became a Top 10 follow-up single: "Nights Are Forever Without You." Riding on this momentum, A&M issued a compilation album titled I Hear Music in 1976 featuring earlier recordings.
Both Seals and Coley embraced the Baháʼí Faith around 1972; however, Coley later reverted to Christianity while Seals remained a Baháʼí until his passing.
Their sophomore Big Tree album, Dowdy Ferry Road (March 1977), yielded hits including Randy Goodrum’s "It's Sad To Belong (To Someone Else)" (No. 21) and Coley's own "Gone Too Far" (No. 23). Additionally, they composed and performed "It's All Up To You," which served as the theme for NBC's teen drama series James at 15.
Released in March 1978, Some Things Don't Come Easy featured the Top 10 single "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again". The following album, Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive (March 1979), included "Love Is the Answer" by Todd Rundgren, marking their last Top 10 and Top 40 hit; its successor "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart" reached No. 50 later that year.
Initially an acoustic act, during their period of success with Big Tree they toured backed by a full band comprising Danny Gorman (drums), Bubba Keith (guitar), John Leland (bass), Ovid Stevens (guitar), and Michael Vernacchio (keyboards).
In March 1980, "In It For Love," one of two new tracks featured on The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley (released December 1979), peaked at No. 53. After contributing songs to the soundtrack of Just Tell Me You Love Me in 1980, the duo ultimately parted ways.
Aftermath
The partnership ended in 1980 when Seals embarked on a solo path in country music, finding notable success throughout the 1980s with popular tracks such as "Meet Me in Montana" (a duet with Marie Osmond) and "Bop". Seals succumbed to mantle cell lymphoma on March 25, 2009, following medical treatment.
Coley went on to establish a new ensemble, releasing an album under A&M Records titled Leslie, Kelly and John Ford Coley, which included sisters Leslie and Kelly Bulkin. During the 1980s, he also made appearances in television and film. In the 1990s and 2000s, Coley resumed extensive touring and took part in producing artists like Eddie Money (alongside Vince Gill) and Tom Wurth.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | RIAA | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS |
CAN | ||||
| 1971 | England Dan & John Ford Coley | — | — | — | — | A&M |
| 1972 | Fables | — | — | — | — | |
| 1976 | I Hear Music | 202 | — | — | — | |
| Nights Are Forever | 17 | 68 | 11 | Gold | Big Tree | |
| 1977 | Dowdy Ferry Road | 80 | — | — | — | |
| 1978 | Some Things Don't Come Easy | 61 | — | 73 | — | |
| 1979 | Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive | 106 | 69 | — | — | |
| The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley | 194 | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | Just Tell Me You Love Me (soundtrack) | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996 | The Very Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley | — | — | — | — | Rhino |
| 2015 | The Atlantic Albums + | — | — | — | — | Edsel |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | RIAA | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | CA | CA AC | AUS | ||||
| 1972 | "New Jersey" | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | Fables |
| "Simone" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" | "align=center"2 | "align=center"1 | "align=center"5 | "align=center"1 | "align=center"25 | "align=center"Gold | "rowspan=2" Nights Are Forever |
| "Nights Are Forever Without You" | "align=center"10 | "align=center"6 | "align=center"10 | "align=center"4 | "align=center"92 | "align=center"— | ||
| "1977" | "It's Sad to Belong" | "align=center"21 | "align=center"1 | "align=center"9 | "align=center"1 | "align=center"90 | "align=center"— | "rowspan=2" Dowdy Ferry Road |
| "Gone Too Far" | "align=center"23 | "align=center"8 | "align=center"15 | "align=center"11 | "align=center"71 | "align=center"— | ||
| "1978" | "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again" | "align=center"9 | "align=center"1 | "align=center"11 | "align=center"2 | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | "rowspan=3" Some Things Don't Come Easy |
| "You Can't Dance" | "align=center"49 | "align=center"22 | "align=center"62 | "align=center"34 | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | ||
| "If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight" | "align=center"— | "align=center"41 | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | ||
| "Westward Wind" | "align=center"— | "align=center"30 | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | "align=center"— | ||
| 'Love Is the Answer' | '10' | '1' | '33' | '18' | '79' | '—' | 'rowspan=2' Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive | |
| 'What Can I Do with This Broken Heart' | '50' | '12' | '—' | '—' | '—' | '—' | ||
| 'In It for Love' | '75' | '45' | '—' | '—' | '—' | '—' | 'The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley' | |
| 'Part of Me Part of You' | '—' | '42' | '—' | '—' | '—' | '—' | 'Just Tell Me You Love Me' (soundtrack) | |
Additional sources
- Nite, Norm N. and Newman, Ralph M.: ROCK ON: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Rock N' Roll; Volume II: Thomas Y. Crowell: 1978, p. 152.
External links
- Articles with short description
- American pop music groups
- American soft rock music groups
- Musical duos from Texas
- Musical groups established in 1970
- Musical groups disbanded in 1980
- Musical groups from Dallas
- Soft rock duos
- American rock music duos
- American male musical duos
- A&M Records artists
- Big Tree Records artists
- Musical groups disestablished in 1980