-
10 Questions with ... Jan Daley
May 30, 2023
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
1. You've had such a long, storied and varied career – how great is it being on the AC airplay chart in 2023?
I can't begin to tell you how FABULOUS this feels! My 2023 motto is "Never too late, Never too young or old" to reach your dreams!!
2. Congratulations on being inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame! They've also named your charted song "The Way of A Woman" the official song of the 2023 proceedings. What has all of that been like for you?
I wrote this song quite a few years ago and when people across the nation began to notice and appreciate it, it makes you believe in miracles! When I wrote this song it was from the pain I was going through at the time, and by expressing it through my music, it was therapy for my heart. Now I'm hearing from so many people sharing their stories. It seems to be resonating with both women and men, which pleases my soul!!
3. You were Miss California back in the day, what was that experience like and did it help jump-start your career?
Funny story, one of my girlfriends in college talked me into entering. Let's just say it wasn't on my lists of dreams, but it turned out to open up doors that probably wouldn't have opened had it not been for this honor.
4. You recently hit # 1 on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart. That still has to be an incredible rush –what was that like for you this time around?
The first time I literally fell on my floor and thanked the "Man upstairs!" This time I'm still marveling that it is happening again and people have fallen in love with a song I've written. I'm over the moon!
5. With Memorial Day top of mind, what are some of your memories of touring with Bob Hope in 1970 and entertaining troops in Vietnam?
For me this was a dream come true, after growing up watching Bob's Christmas Specials. This was extra special for me because my father was an Air Force pilot, shot down picking up POW's, after WWI ended. I always hoped that he was looking down and proud of me. Years later I found a picture of him standing next to Bob Hope after he entertained at the Air Force base my father was stationed at in Alaska. One experience I'll never forget is when we were doing our show in Danang and I closed the show, as usual, with everyone joining me after to sign autographs. But this particular day our crew came out and began to drag us off the stage yelling at us to jump in the helicopters. As we pulled to the top of the hill we were all shocked to see we were surrounded by the Vietcong and our men were in combat with them. There were other incidents but the Hope people sheltered us so we could continue to entertain troops without worrying!
6. Speaking of legends – you were on 'The Tonight Show' when Johnny Carson was the host. How was all of that?
Loved that man! Funny, quick witted, sweet, and listened to his guests instead of making it all about him which some hosts do today!
7. How did your movie career come about, and what are some of the roles that you loved the most?
I was under contract to a studio in my 20's and was in a television series which roasted Legends every week, so agents were interested in me.
Favorite roles: Loved playing a nun with nice man George Kennedy, an FBI agent with Bruce Willis, who had a great sense of humor and kept you on your toes with his improvisations during shooting. I was really excited about playing opposite Peter Fonda, and surprised that he was kind of shy. I normally didn't like playing "the blonde bombshell" parts but this movie I liked because the script read like 007 movies, with Hugh O'Brian. Funny story: They put extra stuffy in my bathing suit scene because I was not as voluptuous as they wanted and when it came down to editing for the television run, they took the entire scene out, because I looked too provocative! Now of course they wouldn't even give it a thought! I only have one regret of not playing opposite Anthony Quinn in a movie. The producers just couldn't pull together the money. When you're young and things are happening so fast for you, you hardly have time to think how appreciative you are for the work, until it slows down.
8. How did playwriting become a part of your work life?
When I was 8 years old, I was writing musicals and plays and having all the neighborhood kids play the parts. Don't' know why the kids joined in, guess it was just something to do during the summer. When my career was booming in my 20's & 30's producers called me to be in their projects. Reading the scripts, I just thought to myself, "I can write something better than this!
So I wrote a couple of pilots and joined the writers' Union., But my music career was taking so much of my time, I moved on.
When the Pandemic struck, and all my concerts were cancelled, I decided to go back to writing the story of my father and my life and how it intertwined, without ever knowing anything about him. When my stepfather and my mother had passed. I knew what I wanted to find in their home. I hoped that my mother had saved something of my fathers: letters, photos, anything that might help fill the void I had felt all my life. When you only know one parent and she doesn't reflect who you are there is a hole in your soul! The first photo I found was my father in a rather funny creative pose! I thought to myself "Oh my God, he was a ham just like me!" I've been writing ever since and hope it will be a movie, limited series or a one woman musical. Stay tuned!!
9. What do you still love about performing?
There is nothing like it. The energy you feel makes you sing and phrase different. You reach notes you hadn't planned on, and the applause gives you the courage to keep on doing what you you're doing.
10. Who has been in your orbit that still makes you pinch yourself?
I grew up watching Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews and adored both, as millions of others still do. I met Julie about 10 years ago and had dinner with her and some friends. I had a hard time even joining in on the conversation, not believing I was there with "The Queen!"
With Carol, I grew up watching her doing slapstick and acting goofy, trying to be just like her, so meeting them and traveling with both of them was a dream come true!
-
-