Revealed: Daniel

Fans of the late, great Kenny Everett may remember today's track. Revelation appeared at number 25 in Cuddly Ken's first Bottom 30 selection, broadcast in the1977, just two years after this appalling piece of God-bothering garbage was released.
 

Recorded by the otherwise unknown (at least in this guise) Daniel, this impossibly awful piece of dreck comes with an impeccable heritage. It was written by Bobby Braddock, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and composer of upteen hits over his 40-plus year career, and produced by Dan Hoffman a former disc jockey and A&R man who, along with Braddock, had worked with many big-name Nashville stars including Tammy Wynette.

 

Revelation was originally written in 1971 and was recorded in the same year by Waylon Jennings: Waylon's 'traditional' (i.e. sung rather than narrated) version of the song appeared on his 1972 album Ladies Love Outlaws. It's been recorded by a number of different artists since then, all wisely eschewing Daniel's unique, portentous style. With his sonorous vocal performance - not a million miles away from the spoken word horrors of Eamonn Andrews or Red Sovine - he sounds like Tim Lovejoy's boring brother delivering a slice of Christian country balladry.

 

I'm guessing that Daniel and Dan Hoffman are one and the same person: the delivery of this track is so similar to those of other US radio DJs (Goodbye Sam by Shad O'Shea, for example). Although the majority of copies that turn up for sale are mono/stereo promos (as is my own copy), this appalling single did actually receive a limited commercial release in the States, backed with a track titled Gone Are The Days, co-written by Hoffman. Thankfully it failed to chart and Daniel does not appear to have recorded a follow up, although as Daniel D Hoffman (if Dan the writer/producer and Dan the performer are one and the same) he had previously issued a 45 - String (a Tribute) - on Cherish records in 1974...a copy of which is winging its way towards me as I type. Soon the mystery will be solved.

 

Enjoy!