Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion.

Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature".

[6] Hartman joined his first band the Legends at the age of 13 in 1964[5] at the request of his older brother David (Dave) who asked him to play keyboards.

Hartman was initially reluctant to join, as he gravitated towards Motown rather than the Beatles-esque sound that the band members favored.

The original lineup consisted of Hartman (keyboards), Dave (guitar and vocals), Denny Woolridge (bass) and Ralph Swartz (drums).

[9] From its inception, the Legends played at various spots throughout Central Pennsylvania, including local churches, dances, rock shows and outdoor concerts.

By the early 1970s, Dave had left the Legends and Hartman became the band leader with Larry Sadler on drums and Joe Caloiero on bass.

Hartman's role further expanded in that he wrote much of the band's music (as well as played electric piano, organ, and guitar), but despite the release of a number of recordings, none turned out to be widespread hits.

[10] While part of the Legends, Hartman worked as a banker for a time and wore a fake mustache in the promos so that his employers would not recognize him.

[10] He enlisted the help of Ronnie G. Shaeffer, a major radio personality in Central Pennsylvania who not only listened to the works and provided honest criticism to Hartman but also offered record label connections.

[14] In 1971, upon listening to the 13-song demo tape, Steve Paul, President of Blue Sky Records,[5] introduced Hartman to Edgar Winter—who had recently disbanded White Trash and was seeking new members for his next musical venture.

[19] Hartman also wrote the band's charting singles "Easy Street" and "River's Risin" from the Shock Treatment album.

(Note that the single and album version of "I Can Dream About You" is sung by Hartman; within the film Streets of Fire, the song is performed by a fictional vocal group called the Sorels, whose lead singer is played by Stoney Jackson; the actual vocal in the film was performed by Winston Ford).

The album was completed in 1986, but the record label, MCA, thought it was too dissimilar to Hartman's previous work, especially "I Can Dream About You", and refused to release it.

[33] Hartman worked as a songwriter, producer, and collaborated with such artists as Peter Brown (Stargazer, 1979),[34] the Plasmatics (Hartman produced 1981's Metal Priestess;[35] he also produced a demo version of Coup d'Etat in 1982, which was released as Coup de Grace in 2000),[36][37] Nona Hendryx (she even co-wrote the song "Electricity" with Hartman, which was featured on his 1984 I Can Dream About You album),[38] James Brown (Gravity; 1986),[39] Steve Winwood (Hartman provided backing vocals on "The Finer Things", which was featured on Winwood's 1986 album Back in the High Life),[40] Jenny Burton (Souvenirs; 1986),[41] Jackie Chan (Hartman's song "Only For Your Love" was featured on the album Shangri-La; 1986),[42] Time Bandits (Can't Wait for Another World, 1987; co-produced with Midnight),[43] John Waite (the song "Sometimes", cowritten by Hartman and Midnight, was featured on the 1987 album Rover's Return),[44] Paul King (Joy; 1987),[45] D-Project (Prototype; 1988),[46] Tina Turner (Foreign Affair; 1989),[47] Joe Cocker (Unchain My Heart and One Night of Sin; 1987 and 1989 respectively),[48] Holly Johnson (Blast; 1989),[49] Living in a Box (Gatecrashing; 1989),[50] Dusty Springfield (Reputation; 1990),[51][52] Tom Robinson (We Never Had It So Good – later re-released as Blood Brother; 1990),[53][54] Bonnie Tyler (Bitterblue; 1991),[33][55] The Fabulous Pop Tarts - a musical duo composed of Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (1992; Hartman produced the song "Smile"),[56] and Valerie's Garten (Valerie's Garten; 1992).

Around 1976, Hartman began using one of the rooms of a colonial home in Westport, Connecticut (dubbed "The Schoolhouse") to serve as a recording studio.

[62][63] Hartman wrote the song "It's Never Too Late", which was sung by Diana Ross and featured on her 1981 album Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

[70][71] Around 1984, Hartman also worked as a lyricist and producer for Rugsted & Kreutzfeldt's album Sold Out (also referred to as R'n'K Band).

[72] Aside from focusing on his solo career in 1984, Hartman provided background vocals for John Jarrett's Tribe's self-titled album.

[58] Hartman produced the song "I Won't Steal Away" (which he co-wrote with Midnight and Alides Hidding) for the band Time Bandits, which appeared on their 1985 album Fiction.

[77] In 1984, Hartman also performed "Heart of the Beat" under the band name 3V with Charlie Midnight for the soundtrack of Breakin' (directed by Joel Silberg).

[78] In 1985, Hartman's song "Talking To The Wall" was featured on the soundtrack to the film Perfect starring Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta.

Hartman's song "Get Outta Town" (co-written with Midnight and co-produced with Richard Landis) was featured on the Fletch soundtrack.

[91] In 1990, he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Charlie Midnight 9.95 (performed by Spunkadelic) for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.

[94] "Love Sensation" was sampled in 1989 Black Box track "Ride on Time" and 1991's "Good Vibrations" (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; Holloway even appeared in the music video during the chorus portion).

[100] In May 1994, the "Dan Hartman: A Celebration of His Life and Music" memorial concert was performed at New York's Sound Factory Bar.

[110][111][112] At the time of his death, Hartman's music was enjoying a revival of sorts: a cover version of "Relight My Fire" became a British number-one hit for Take That and Lulu in 1993.

Around December 1994, the album Keep the Fire Burnin' was posthumously released – a compilation featuring remixes of earlier hits and previously unreleased material.

[5][115][116] Hartman's version of "Free Ride" was featured in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie the year after his death.

[120] In 2006, twelve years after Hartman's death, "I Can Dream About You" was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories; "Relight My Fire" was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.