DAN HILL FOLLOWS IN HIS GRANDPARENTS’ FOOTSTEPS
A Review: Dan Hill Live! At The Old Town Hall, February 8 & 9, 2014
by Ann Brady
There’s a beautiful passage in author/singer-songwriter Dan Hill’s book, “I Am My Father’s Son,” that describes his Grandparents’ visits to small American villages during the Great Depression:
“Dan II, a splendid, self-taught musician who could play back on the church organ virtually any song he heard, usually performed alongside May [Dan’s Grandmother] who was also an accomplished pianist and vocalist. Together they’d fill the church auditorium with uplifting Negro spirituals. Dan II would always add a little local spice by writing and performing humorous songs dealing with issues or gossip germane to his town and congregation, frequently improvising new lyrics… The people in these small towns, rarely exposed to concerts or shows of any kind, regarded the Hill concerts as major events.” (p. 36 “I Am My Father’s Son” by Dan Hill, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 2009).
So it came to pass that Dan Hill followed in his Grandparents’ footsteps during his visit to Winchester’s Old Town Hall Theatre, earlier this month. In every sense of the word Dan’s two-day visit was indeed a major event. He regaled his audience in a sold-out concert with songs that we all grew up with, fell in love by, and enjoyed as the background to our everyday lives over the past four decades. Dan’s voice was still the same buttery velvet it has always been, and his between-songs storytelling was enjoyed by all. His guitar playing was surprisingly superb, his piano playing crisp. The audience gave Dan two standing ovations before they would let him leave.
Sunday’s songwriting workshop featured Dan the Teacher, something for which he is well suited. He sampled a variety of songs through the decades and spoke about his own experiences in the music business, finishing with a solid performance of his famous, “Sometimes When We Touch.” During the second half of the program, Dan critiqued five local songwriters, who each performed an original song for Dan before the live audience. Afterwards, he graciously mingled with the crowd, answering questions and autographing copies of his book and latest CD “Intimate.”
For those of us who shared this wonderful weekend with Dan Hill, we came away from it appreciating something about the man and his music that he surely shared with his Grandparents: that rare quality of graciousness and skill, talent and attention that only the finest can offer.
Dan’s concert also marked another historic occasion that evening: It was the first time in the history of North Dundas Township that Black History Month was recognized and publicly celebrated. The MC for the evening read a special message sent by Black History Ottawa president Godwin Ifedi, who praised the Township for its support of Black culture and achievement in Canada and recognized Dan’s illustrious brother, author Lawrence Hill, and father, the late Daniel G. Hill III, Canada’s first Human Rights Commissioner and noted Black historian. We are so proud to have shared that moment with Dan Hill and his Grandparents, Dan II and May, who surely must have watched from their heavenly domain.
Ann Brady is the co-chair of the North Dundas Arts Council in Winchester, Ontario, a singer-songwriter and writer, and a grandmother of seven.