Daniel Joseph Schafer
Encyclopedia
Daniel Joseph Schafer known professionally as Dan Schafer, is an American
country music
and Christian
singer, lead guitarist, songwriter, and actor, who has toured with Shania Twain
, Barbara Mandrell
, George Jones
, Lorrie Morgan
, T. Graham Brown
, and played bass on the Grand Ole Opry for six years. He was a recording artist for RCA Records and moved from playing guitar in the studio to songwriting and touring with national country music artists. His career includes singing commercial jingles for national products and as a songwriter, has had one composition reach #1 on the Billboard Christian music chart.
In Detroit, Schafer's guitar skills caught the eye of local recording talents, including Moonstone and Skip Van Winkle, who'd scored records on the Billboard charts
.
(The Guess Who
, Alice Cooper
, and Poco
). In 1976, Schafer recorded his own work, " A Day Without You Dear," which was released but failed to chart, despite substantial international airplay. His own song was next covered by The Skyliners
on their album, "Once Upon a Time" as well as their 1978 comeback album on Tortoise International
In 1978 Schafer released "Baby, Now That I Found You," a remake of the Foundations' hit single, working with producers Bruce Goldberg and Don Davis for the RCA Tortoise International Label. Based on increased experience in working with award-winning record producers, Schafer was given the opportunity to sing and produce radio and TV commercials in the Detroit area. Some of the commercials were broadcast nationally, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dow Cleansers.
Schafer next became a full-time guitarist and background singer for recording artists including Larry Santos
and The Skyliners
.
Relocating to Nashville in 1979, Schafer found professional success in the country music genre. Because of his versatility in playing lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, and bass guitar, Schafer was chosen to tour with Leroy Van Dyke, which was a showcase that led to his opportunities in touring with several major recording artists including Barbara Mandrell
, Lorrie Morgan
, Keith Whitley
, George Jones
, T. Graham Brown
, and Shania Twain
. He was featured in Barbara Mandrell's "Do-Rite Band" on her "Moments" tour and appeared on the CBS Mandrell Family Christmas Special. Working with Shania Twain
, Schafer was featured in multiple TV appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
on 02/2/95 and 2/26/96.
These tours afforded him multiple opportunities to appear on TV as the featured guitarist backing these singers on numerous award shows including "Billboard Music Awards," "The American Music Awards
," "Grand Ole Opry 'Live'," and "Blockbuster Music Awards."
Schafer then left the road and performed continuously for six years on the Grand Ole Opry
, playing bass for Jack Greene
. He performed at Opryland theme park and was featured in Dick Clark's American Bandstand Classics Show. He made an uncredited appearance as an extra in the November 1982, CBS movie, "Country Gold," which featured Loni Anderson
, Earl Holliman
, and Linda Hamilton
.
In Nashville, Tennessee
Schafer continued his jingle recording career and sang on commercials for Pepsi, Dole Pineapple, and Honda vehicles. Simultaneously, he was hired to sing backup on the Grand Ole Opry
and The Nashville Network, today known as the Spike TV channel. He is an endorsed artist for Seymour Duncan
SSL-1 and California single-coil pickup sets.
A renewed commitment to Christianity took Schafer into further Bible study and his current pursuit of additional credentialing. His songwriting next encompassed Christian and gospel music. Together with Greg Nelson (producer)
, he co-wrote "All Along the Way," which was recorded by singer Larnelle Harris
and reached the #1 spot on the CCM Christian Inspirational charts and is included in Billboard.
Schafer recorded 2 instructional videos for the Epiphone
Guitar Company as well as an instructional DVD and CD teaching "Bender style" guitar techniques. He is also endorsed by Peavey Instruments and Amplifiers, Hohner Guitars, and Steinberger basses.
As a music industry professional, he was asked to serve as a Judge for Music City Star Quest. After completing a B.A. degree in Biblical Studies and obtaining a Master's of Theology degree from the Christian Bible College and Seminary in Independence, Missouri, Schafer's music focus has been on Christian music. Presently, Schafer continues as songwriter, performs in concert as a solo artist, and has begun producing projects for other artists in Nashville.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
singer, lead guitarist, songwriter, and actor, who has toured with Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
, T. Graham Brown
T. Graham Brown
Anthony "T." Graham Brown is an American country music artist. Active since 1986, Brown has recorded a total of thirteen studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
, and played bass on the Grand Ole Opry for six years. He was a recording artist for RCA Records and moved from playing guitar in the studio to songwriting and touring with national country music artists. His career includes singing commercial jingles for national products and as a songwriter, has had one composition reach #1 on the Billboard Christian music chart.
Early life
Schafer was born in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and began performing at a child on local radio shows and performing jamborees. He learned to play guitar at age 9 and, together with his parents, performed at area dance clubs, such as Palmer's Idle Hour Bar in Weidman, Michigan. While in high school, he played with two rock-and-roll bands, The Bark of Paper Mulberry and The Wild West Show. He graduated from Beal City High School in 1970, and relocated to Detroit to perform with the music group, the Grand Band.In Detroit, Schafer's guitar skills caught the eye of local recording talents, including Moonstone and Skip Van Winkle, who'd scored records on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
.
Career
In 1974, Schafer was signed to a two-year contract with RCA Records and worked with producer Jack Richardson (record producer)Jack Richardson (record producer)
Jack Richardson, CM was a Juno Award-nominated Canadian record producer and Order of Canada recipient. He is perhaps best known for producing the biggest hit records from The Guess Who from 1969 to 1975...
(The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, and Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
). In 1976, Schafer recorded his own work, " A Day Without You Dear," which was released but failed to chart, despite substantial international airplay. His own song was next covered by The Skyliners
The Skyliners
The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh fronted by Jimmy Beaumont. The original lineup also included Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, Joe Verscharen, Louis M. Tutino and Janet Vogel...
on their album, "Once Upon a Time" as well as their 1978 comeback album on Tortoise International
In 1978 Schafer released "Baby, Now That I Found You," a remake of the Foundations' hit single, working with producers Bruce Goldberg and Don Davis for the RCA Tortoise International Label. Based on increased experience in working with award-winning record producers, Schafer was given the opportunity to sing and produce radio and TV commercials in the Detroit area. Some of the commercials were broadcast nationally, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dow Cleansers.
Schafer next became a full-time guitarist and background singer for recording artists including Larry Santos
Larry Santos
Larry Santos is an American singer-songwriter. He wrote tunes for several American pop bands in the 1960s, including the 1963 #3 hit "Candy Girl" for The Four Seasons. In the mid-Sixties, he recorded a few singles as part of a group called The Madisons, as well as under his own name...
and The Skyliners
The Skyliners
The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh fronted by Jimmy Beaumont. The original lineup also included Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, Joe Verscharen, Louis M. Tutino and Janet Vogel...
.
Relocating to Nashville in 1979, Schafer found professional success in the country music genre. Because of his versatility in playing lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, and bass guitar, Schafer was chosen to tour with Leroy Van Dyke, which was a showcase that led to his opportunities in touring with several major recording artists including Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
, Keith Whitley
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 until his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, T. Graham Brown
T. Graham Brown
Anthony "T." Graham Brown is an American country music artist. Active since 1986, Brown has recorded a total of thirteen studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
, and Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
. He was featured in Barbara Mandrell's "Do-Rite Band" on her "Moments" tour and appeared on the CBS Mandrell Family Christmas Special. Working with Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, Schafer was featured in multiple TV appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on 02/2/95 and 2/26/96.
These tours afforded him multiple opportunities to appear on TV as the featured guitarist backing these singers on numerous award shows including "Billboard Music Awards," "The American Music Awards
American Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
," "Grand Ole Opry 'Live'," and "Blockbuster Music Awards."
Schafer then left the road and performed continuously for six years on the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, playing bass for Jack Greene
Jack Greene
Jack Greene is an American country musician nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant" and well known for his 1966 hit "There Goes My Everything."-Early career:...
. He performed at Opryland theme park and was featured in Dick Clark's American Bandstand Classics Show. He made an uncredited appearance as an extra in the November 1982, CBS movie, "Country Gold," which featured Loni Anderson
Loni Anderson
Loni Kaye Anderson is an American actress who played the role of Jennifer Marlowe on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.- Early life :...
, Earl Holliman
Earl Holliman
-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
, and Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
.
In Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
Schafer continued his jingle recording career and sang on commercials for Pepsi, Dole Pineapple, and Honda vehicles. Simultaneously, he was hired to sing backup on the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
and The Nashville Network, today known as the Spike TV channel. He is an endorsed artist for Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
SSL-1 and California single-coil pickup sets.
A renewed commitment to Christianity took Schafer into further Bible study and his current pursuit of additional credentialing. His songwriting next encompassed Christian and gospel music. Together with Greg Nelson (producer)
Greg Nelson (producer)
Greg Nelson is a music producer from Nashville, Tennessee.- Overview and early career :Nelson was born in Bismarck, North Dakota...
, he co-wrote "All Along the Way," which was recorded by singer Larnelle Harris
Larnelle Harris
Larnelle Steward Harris is a gospel singer and songwriter. During his 30-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 18 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the inspirational music charts.-Early life:A native of Danville, Kentucky, Harris...
and reached the #1 spot on the CCM Christian Inspirational charts and is included in Billboard.
Schafer recorded 2 instructional videos for the Epiphone
Epiphone
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market...
Guitar Company as well as an instructional DVD and CD teaching "Bender style" guitar techniques. He is also endorsed by Peavey Instruments and Amplifiers, Hohner Guitars, and Steinberger basses.
As a music industry professional, he was asked to serve as a Judge for Music City Star Quest. After completing a B.A. degree in Biblical Studies and obtaining a Master's of Theology degree from the Christian Bible College and Seminary in Independence, Missouri, Schafer's music focus has been on Christian music. Presently, Schafer continues as songwriter, performs in concert as a solo artist, and has begun producing projects for other artists in Nashville.