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Jennifer Daniels’ “Day To Live” Named April “Best Song Of
The Month”
By Dale Kawashima
Jennifer Daniels, a talented, hard-working singer/songwriter
based in Chattanooga, TN, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The
Month” Contest for April, for her song “Day To Live.” This song is one of 12
cuts featured on her third album, Summer Filled Sky, which was released
in June 2004.
Jennifer Daniels
“Day To Live” is an excellent, acoustic rock song, which is
reminiscent of the appealing, intelligent style of Natalie Merchant or Paula
Cole. The song’s lyrics are unique, displaying a mostly upbeat attitude, but
also with a subtle, darker shading in the chorus. The key, lyric phrase has a
quirky sensibility: “It may be a better day to die…but it’s a good day to
live.” “Day To Live” was expertly produced by guitarist Jeff Neal (who is her husband and musical partner) and bassist Mike Steele. Notably, Summer
Filled Sky was mixed and mastered by prominent engineer/producer, Rodney
Mills (who has worked with Sheryl Crow, R.E.M. and Pearl Jam).
Daniels was born in Knoxville, TN, then moved with her
family to Chattanooga when she was 8. She started singing, playing guitar (both
6-string & 12-string), and writing songs at a young age. “I’ve always
wanted to do music for a living,” explained Daniels. “I used to sing on my
front porch and pretend it was my big stage. Then (later on) in college, I
started to play live, solo shows.” Daniels eventually graduated from Covenant
College in Chattanooga with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and got her
Master’s degree in counseling from Colorado Christian University.
After completing her education, Daniels focused on being a
fulltime singer/songwriter and live performer. It was after college that she
met (her husband) Jeff Neal, and he helped produce and play (guitar and
mandolin) on her albums. He also tours steadily with her; Daniels & Neal
now play a remarkable 130 shows per year. The duo mainly tours Texas and the
eastern half of the U.S. (they just completed a tour of Great Lakes states).
However, Daniels & Neal are also planning their first west coast tour for
later this year.
Jennifer Daniels
Regarding “Day To Live,” Daniels recalled how she wrote this
song. “I remember dancing around with my guitar, and I got the chord schemes
going. Pretty soon, the tune started to develop. The lyric ended up being about
giving yourself to someone. It’s about being very open, so that they can come
along with you, but with a sense of freedom. ‘Day To Live’ is one of my more
positive, happy, radio-friendly songs. On my album, there are also darker
songs, and sparse, acoustic songs.”
Currently, Daniels is looking forward to more steady
touring, and further promoting her Summer Filled Sky album. “We are
looking to do more radio promotion,” said Daniels. “We also have some national
distribution, and internet distribution for the album. In addition, when we’re
on the road, we always try to promote our CD in advance of any cities we play.
Eventually, we would like to place songs in film and TV. And of course, we are
always writing new songs.”
Here are the Top Five Songs which were submitted for this month's contest, with the songwriter credits, plus their e-mail and website links. To hear the songs, please click on "Listen To Song".
"Best Song Of The Month" Winner
"Day To Live". Written & performed by Jennifer Daniels of Chattanooga, TN.