Danny Darst

Multiple number one Country Hit songwriter (BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY – John Anderson, ROLL ON BIG MAMA – Joe Stampley and many more) Danny Darst’s new CD release “DANNY DARST (songs from EXIT 10 the play)” features 10 original songs produced and recorded in Nashville. DANIEL DEAN DARST is a singer/songwriter/poet/ actor/master storyteller and now playwright with the World Premiere of his semi-autobiographical work, EXIT 10. He first appeared in theater in the 1981 production of 2 By South, written by Frank South and starring Leo Burmester and Alfre Woodard. Playing a number of his original songs, the New York Times called his performance “a chilling, hallucinatory embodiment of the protagonist's phantom dreams.” Robert Altman made his debut as a theater director with the play, which was performed in Los Angeles and in New York and filmed for the Arts Channel. This marked the beginning of Danny’s lifelong relationship as collaborator, confidant and close personal friend of the legendary Academy Award winning director /writer/producer. Danny was a studio music writer in Nashville and wrote a Number One hit song well before he crossed over into television, writing the theme song for “Oregon Trail” and composing music for Russ Myer’s Supervixens, He got his first opportunity to act in 1980 in Jonathan Demme’s Handle With Care, appearing in the director’s subsequent films, The Silence of the Lambs, The Manchurian Candidate and Swing Shift. His films with Robert Altman include Cookie’s Fortune, O.C. and Stiggs, The Gingerbread Man and Short Cuts, as well as starring in the director’s telefilm, “The Caine Mutiny Court Marshall,” for CBS and the HBO series, “Tanner,” as himself. Television credits also include a recurring role on “Melrose Place.” Among Danny’s nine top-five singles are two Number One hit records: “Black Sheep” (co-written with Robert Altman) and recorded by John Anderson and “Roll On Big Mama” recorded by Joe Stampley. Danny composed and performed music for Demme’s Melvin and Howard and Something Wild. He recently produced, performed and recorded the album, “Danny Darst (songs From EXIT 10 the play)” in Nashville. He is currently recording his second full length Album in Nashville Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.