"Danny's Song" is the title of a song written by the American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Kenny Loggins

Kenny Loggins

During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...

. It was written as a gift for his brother Danny for the birth of his son Colin. It first appeared on the album Sittin' In, the debut album by Loggins and Messina

Loggins and Messina

Loggins and Messina are an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina who achieved their success in the early to mid 1970s...

. The song is well remembered for both the Loggins and Messina original, as well as Anne Murray

Anne Murray

Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....

's 1972 top-ten charting cover.

Loggins and Messina version

Loggins and Jim Messina released Sittin' In in 1971, and although the album yielded no Top 40 radio hits, one song that received a significant amount of radio airplay was "Danny's Song". Loggins wrote the song for his brother Danny Loggins in 1970 when Danny became the father of a boy named Colin -- his first son. Loggins and Messina would achieve chart success in 1973 with their song "Your Mama Don't Dance

Your Mama Don't Dance

"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached #4 on the Billboard pop chart and #19 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart as a single in early 1973."Your Mama Don't Dance" was covered in 1985...

", but their version of "Danny's Song" remains one of their best-known songs through frequent airplay on rock and adult contemporary radio stations.

Anne Murray version

Canadian country-pop music singer Anne Murray

Anne Murray

Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....

 was a fan of the original recording and recorded a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 in 1972. Included on her album of the same name

Danny's Song (album)

Danny's Song is the seventh studio album by Anne Murray issued in 1973 on Capitol Records. Tracks 7-11 were recorded live at the National Arts Centre in in Ottawa, Ontario...

, Murray's version of "Danny's Song" was a hit, reaching the Top 10 on three major Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

music charts in early 1973. On the pop chart

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, the song reached number seven; on the country chart

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

, it peaked at number ten; and on the easy listening chart, it spent two weeks at number one in March of that year. Murray's version also earned her a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination in the category Best Female Pop Vocal performance

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...

 at the Grammy Awards of 1974

Grammy Awards of 1974

The 16th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.- Award winners :* Record of the Year...

, losing out to "Killing Me Softly with His Song

Killing Me Softly with His Song

"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a 1971 song composed by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by Roberta Flack whose version topped the U.S...

" by Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...

.

Murray stated that she loved the original version, but the song took on a deeper meaning for her after the birth of her first child a few years later. In an interview, she stated that "Whenever I was singing that song, it was very meaningful."

Chart performance

Chart (1972–1973)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	10
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1