Marie Crichton's Country Show Blog: Country Singer Daron Norwood dies aged 49

Saturday 25 July 2015

Country Singer Daron Norwood dies aged 49

(July 22)

Daron Norwood (September 30, 1965 - July 22, 2015 (aged 49)

Previous spins on Marie Crichton's Country show include:

2005: Break The Radio (Ready, Willing And Able) /"Workin' Elf Blues" (Country Christmas Vol 1 Label Giant)

2006: "My Girl Friday" (Ready Willing And Able)

2007: "Bad Dog, No Biscuit" (Ready, Willing & Able)

2008: "There’ll Always Be A Honky Tonk Somewhere"

2010: "Little Boy Lost" (Keith Whitley: A Tribute)

2012: Daron Norwood & Travis Tritt "Phantom Of The Opry" (..brilliant isn’t it, lovely album - Marie Crichton)

Daron Norwood Montage CLICK to ENLARGE

Singer Daron Norwood Dead At 49

Daron Norwood died Wednesday July 22, 2015 following a heart attack while in TEXAS. He was 49.

The singer was found dead in the bedroom of his Texas apartment by his landlord on Wednesday afternoon according to UsWeekly.

According to police spokesman Chief Brent Harrison of the Hereford Police Department, he was discovered around 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon. Hereford is 40 miles southwest of Amarillo.

'On July 22nd, 2015, at approximately 2 p.m., officers of the Hereford Police Department, along with medical personnel were sent to the 100 block of Hereford Calle in reference to an unresponsive subject,' Harrison told Us

Norwood released three albums: self-titled DARON NORWOOD in Feb 1, 1994 (Giant Records; Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com); READY, WILLING AND ABLE on March 28, 1995 (Giant Records; UK iTunes - Amazon.com)

and the 15 track I STILL BELIEVE on Aug 3, 2012 (D10 Records; UK iTunes - Amazon.com).

Six of his singles were on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. He was twice in the country top 40.

Through years on the country music club circuit, his energetic uptempo numbers and moving ballads created a buzz that eventually led to Giant signing Mr. Norwood to Giant Records in 1993 (1990s amid the boom in the format led by artists such as Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson) and went on to release a pair of albums. His self-titled, debut effort yielded two singles which charted inside the top 40, "If It Wasn’t For Her, I Wouldn’t Have You” (#26 Hot Country Songs; >> Video shown on CMT) and "Cowboys Don't Cry" (>> Video; #24 Hot Country Songs; writers Jim Allison, Doug Gilmore, Jeff Raymond, Bob Simon).
"If I Ever Love Again" (>> Live Performance; Russ Carlyle / Dick Reynolds / Billy Spence / Curtis Wright) reached at #48 in 1994.

Two singles released in 1995 from his album READY, WILLING and ABLE were minor chart placings: "Bad Dog, No Biscuit" (>> Video ) reached #50 and "My Girl Friday" (writers: Carl Jackson / Curtis Wright) peaked at #58 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. The sophomore album itself suffered poor sales.

About Daron Norwood:

Mr. Norwood was born in Lubbock, Texas, on Sept. 30, 1965.
Daron grew up in Texas and then moved to Nashville in 1988. There the son of a preacher tried to launch his country music career. His idols were Johnny Cash and George Strait.
The star quit the music business in 1995 because of his addiction issues.
He told the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal that during that time period, he was taking 20 to 25 shots of Jack Daniels a night.
The musician founded "Keep It Straight"(>> promo video) with his wife Kim in 1997 in order to warn children about the dangers of substance abuse.
In 2002, he resurfaced on Nashville indie label Lofton Creek with >> “In God We Trust,” (>> Video) a song which didn't chart that made some impact at secondary radio as well as Southern Gospel stations across the United States. Performed during President Bush's election campaign it was #1 on Inspiration Country, a song about "faith in God, the freedom we have because of our brave soldiers and what they provide. Keep God First!!"
Norwood released a third and final album, I Still Believe, in 2012, on the D10 label. his 2011 single "Take Me Back" failed to chart
In 2002 he told Country Weekly, 'I didn’t quit on life. But I quit the bus, I quit the band, I quit the record deal, quit the shows, the alcohol, the drugs. 'I quit it all with a phone call to my then-manager saying, "I’m done. And I do mean done - with it all."' He added, 'I hung up the phone. And with that, I looked at my fiancee, Kim, and with tears streaming down my face, I said, "I feel so empty. I’ll probably never sing again." I felt as low as you could go. At that moment right there, she said, "You will."'
After a successful recovery, he became a motivational speaker.
On April 15, 2008, Norwood was arrested in Crestview, Florida, for allegedly battering his wife. The charges were dropped after an investigation.
In 2009 students at a high school in Panhandle, Texas, accused the singer of acting “crazy” and yelling during their school assembly. A teacher finally pulled the fire alarm to get students out of the gym. After that, police officers were also called to the school, and the chief says Norwood was cooperative but slow in packing up and leaving. They attributed his bizarre speech to some kind of mental problem.
In December 2013 he started posting new music on his Facebook page.

Tributes:

Longtime industry exec Mike Borchetta -- who ran the label -- said the singer was a pleasure to work with. “He was such a talented person and artist. It’s so sad for him to be leaving us this young. He was a lot of fun to be around,” he said, adding that it was on the suggestion of longtime radio broadcaster Lon Helton that he take a chance on the singer

I knew / worked with Daron in the beginning of his short career. A great entertainer-kind person - Ron Simpson (Concert Producer Festival & Event consultant)

No information yet on services.

>> Listen to “When Mama Cried”

Watch Mr Norwood performing at Garcia's live (Aug 16, 2012) >> YouTube a song Daron co-wrote with one of the writers of Reba McEntire’s “Rumor Has It” (Bruce Burch, Vern Dant, Larry Shell)

In this episode, Daron Norwood stopped by to talk with 25 Hot Country Cafe and Zack & Jim

Watch from 6 minutes >> YouTube

Daron Norwood performs "If I Ever Love Again" (Band Members: Joel Bouchillon - Keys, Scott King - Bass, Doug Bennett - Drums, Tom Head - Fiddle, Ron Blakley - Steel, Mike Carraway - Ele Gtr,