Dann Huff
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| Dann Huff | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 15, 1960 |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
| Affiliation(s) | Whiteheart, Giant |
| Label(s) | Epic, Frontiers |
| Years active | 1976 - Present |
Dann Huff (born 1960) is a well-known singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer. His brother, David Huff, is also a musician and accomplished drummer, and together they made up the core of the 80's rock band Giant. While not a household name to many, he is one of the most in-demand session players in the music industry, performing on literally hundreds of albums for the past 2+ decades.
[edit] Biography
Dann was born and raised in a musically gifted Christian family. His father, Ronn Huff, was a conductor and arranger. From an early age, Dann accompanied his father to sessions. It was at the age of 9 that he started playing what would become his primary instrument -- the guitar. He took a few lessons, even classical, but played mostly by ear. When he was 13, a session guitarist by the name of John Darnall taught him his first scale, and that set him on a course for the rest of his life.
In high school, Dann met fellow guitarist Gordon Kennedy and started playing together. They were part of a little band that played at school assemblies and such. When he was 16, he started playing on artist's demos in Nashville. He then moved to Los Angeles where he played and recorded for an impressive list of artists. When he was 20, he formed the Christian band Whiteheart together with his brother David. The band was rounded out by Mark Gershmehl on keyboards, Billy Smiley on keyboards/guitar, Gary Lunn on bass and Steve Green handling lead vocals. WhiteHeart was truly one of the pioneer bands when Christian rock took off in the 80's.
After two albums, Dann left Whiteheart to pursue session work. David lasted an additional album. Both would collaborate again to form the hard rock band Giant. Despite scoring a massive hit with the single "I'll See You In My Dreams", the band was never a commercial success. When Time to Burn (their 2nd album, followed by III) released in 1991, their 80's style was quickly swallowed up by the arrival of grunge music scene. In the early 90's, Dann went back to his session work recording with several artists over a vast spectrum of genres.
Dann has also produced albums for successful artists like Faith Hill, Megadeth, Rebecca St. James, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and others. Interestingly, he played guitar on a version of "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake as part of a compilation for a greatest hits album released in 1994. This was not the version of the song that was commonly heard on the radio in the late 1980's.
