Mel McDaniel
September 6, 1942 – March 31, 2011
Mel McDaniel was a successful country music artist who scored several hits during the 1980s. Born and raised in Oklahoma, McDaniel was one of millions of kids who were inspired to make music after witnessing Elvis Presley on television. Thankfully for us, he remained faithful to that dream. McDaniel eventually landed in Nashville where, during the mid ’70s, he landed a deal with Capitol Records. By the late ’80s, McDaniel had released such hit records as “Louisiana Saturday Night,” “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On,” and the Bruce Springsteen-penned, “Stand On It.” In 1996, he was seriously injured when he took a fall from a Lafayette, Louisiana stage and never fully recovered. He then suffered a major heart attack in 2009. But it was ultimately cancer that took Mel McDaniel’s life on March 31, 2011. He was 62.