Difference between revisions of "Dan Truman"

Revision as of 11:30, 12 September 2011

Dan Truman is the keyboard/piano player for the band, Diamond Rio. Dan is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes casually called the Mormon Church. Dan was educated at Brigham Young University and continued classical piano training. While at BYU, he performed with the Young Ambassadors.

Since its foundation, the group has comprised the same six members: Gene Johnson (mandolin, guitar, fiddle, tenor vocals), Jimmy Olander (lead guitar, Dobro, Danelectro, banjo), Brian Prout (drums), Marty Roe (lead vocals), Dan Truman (keyboards, organ, synthesizer), and Dana Williams (bass guitar, baritone vocals).

Dan met Marty Roe in 1984 at Opryland USA in Nashville. They formed the Grizzly River Boys, a bluegrass group later known as the Tennessee River Boys. Olander and Johnson, who previously worked with Keith Whitley, joined a year later, followed by Prout and Williams. The band's name was finally changed to Diamond Rio, because others had thought that the previous name made the group sound like a gospel music band. The name Diamond Rio came from the names of two truck manufacturers, Diamond T and REO (the latter of which became misspelled in the band's name (Wikipedia.org).

Diamond Rio signed with Arista Records, and released their first single "Meet in the Middle" in 1991. It took its place in the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks #1 spot. They have since come out with several more #1 hits: "How Your Love Makes Me Feel", "One More Day" and "I Believe". They have recorded many albums, 3 of which have been given RIAA's platinum certification in the U.S. Diamond Rio also received 4 Group of the Year awards from the CMA's, 2 awards for Top Vocal Group from the ACM, and 13 Grammy nominations.

"One More Day," Diamond Rio's sixth studio album, was released in 2001, shortly after the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. A radio station in New York began playing the song as a tribute, and other stations soon followed suit. Dan loves performing the title song from this album: "Watching and feeling the crowd's response to this song is an amazing thing. We have truly been blessed by the song and its power."

Diamond Rio signed with a Christian label, Word Records, in 2007, and released a Christmas album A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines.