Song:I'd Really Love To See You Tonight
Album:The Very Best Of England Dan & John Ford Coley
I'd Really Love To See You Tonight was a monster hit for England Dan & John Ford Coley in 1976. The song was so big that many fans think the duo were a one hit wonder. But they actually had four top ten hits in the late 70s. Dan Seals and John Colley went to high school together in Dallas. Seals is the younger brother of Jimmy Seals of The Champs and Seals & Crofts. His whole family are musicians. They started working together and had local success in Southwest FOB. They recorded an album for the Stax label Hip Records. In 1969, the duo moved to Los Angeles. They were first called Colley & Wayland. Wayland was Seals middle name. Jim Seals suggested calling his brother his childhood nickname England Dan. He was Beatles obsessed and even affected a British accent for a while. Colley was renamed John Ford Coley just because it rolled off the tongue better. Seals & Crofts guitarist Louis Shelton got the duo a deal with A&M Records. They recorded three albums and were dropped in 1972. In 1976, they played I'd Really Love To See You Tonight for an Atlantic records exec. He didn't like it but Doug Morris of Big Tree Records heard it through the wall and signed them up. Morris has been CEO of Universal Music since 1995 and will become chairman of Sony Music next month. Kyle Lehning was assigned to produce. He's best known for producing Randy Travis. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight topped the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Parker McGee and he also wrote the England Dan & John Ford Coley hit Nights Are Forever and the Crystal Gayle hit If You Ever Change Your Mind. The song continues to get radio play today. You can get all their hits on this Rhino budget comp. England Dan & John Ford Coley faded by the early 80s and split up. Dan Seals reinvented himself as a country artist and his 1985 single Bop topped the Country Singles chart. He continued to record occasionally until his death on Mar. 25, 2009 at age 61. John Ford Coley has toured the nostalgia circuit since 1996. Here's England Dan & John Ford Coley performing I'd Really Love To See You Tonight on The Midnight Special 1976.
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