Dan Hartman

Dan Hartman
Dan Hartman was a struggling musician until he won a spot as bass player in Edgar Winter’s new band, which also featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and Chuck Ruff on drums. The combination worked and in 1972 the Edgar Winter Group released “They Only Come Out At Night”. Originally slated as a B-side , the synthesizer entrenched “Frankenstein” became a huge hit. They followed this up with the Hartman-penned tune “Free Ride” which also became a hit. Montrose then left to form his own band and was replaced by Rick Derringer who had played with both Johnny and Edgar Winter on previous albums. Johnny Winter also covered some of Hartman’s compositions. Most notably, “Can’t You Feel It” on Winter’s “Still Alive and Well” in 1973, and “Rollin’ Across The Country” on 1974’s “Saints and Sinners”. Expectations were high for the next record and “Shock Treatment” released in 1974 fizzled-out. With the magic gone the group broke up. Hartman embarked on an unsuccessful solo career while Edgar got on some flipped-out jazz binge and released “Jasmine Nightdreams”. Neither would taste the success again of their first release. Hartman did have a hit in 1985 with “I Can Dream About You”. Although he did the song, the video would feature a black hip-hop dance troupe. He spent the remainder of his career doing session work for various artists. Dan Hartman died of cancer on March 22nd, 1994 at the age of 44.DEATHROCK UPDATE: Dan Hartman died of AIDS,