Danny Barrett A decade ago, realizing a lifetime dream and fulfilling a lifetime goal, Danny Barrett released his first CD, aptly titled, “It’s About Time.” It was more than just a record album. It was the culmination of a life-long love affair with that special cadre of composers and lyricists of the American popular song. The dream began, as most dreams begin, when Barrett was a youngster growing up in Queens, New York. It was the fifties and most kids his age, and of his time, dreamed about playing centerfield for the Yankees, or becoming heavyweight champion of the world, or leaving home to join the circus. Not Danny Barrett. His dream was to sing. Danny followed the traditional path, singing in the church choir, forming a Doo-Wop group, and performing at high school dances. But the dream remained unfulfilled. The music he was singing, the music of his youth, left him empty. One day in 1960, he heard a Dick Haymes recording of: “It Might As Well Be Spring.” Danny Barrett was hooked. That, a voice within him said, is singing. That’s what I want to do; that’s how I want to sound. He was an anachronism, a Doo-Wop kid abandoning the music of his peers to embrace the sounds of a previous generation. He knew he was swimming against the tide, flying in the face of reason, logic and modern style. Married and the father of three while still in his twenties, Danny Barrett (he was born Danny Albetta, the son of an Italian father and Irish mother whose maiden name was Barrett) put his dream on hold while he earned a living in more conventional pursuits. To support his family, he sold mutual funds, worked in a furniture store and a print shop. And clung to his dream. He began following his dream by getting into the music business, taking bass lessons and booking his own band into the chic New York bistros. “I was successful in the music business, if you measure success in financial terms,” he said. “But I wasn’t getting any musical satisfaction.” The dream was still stirring restlessly within him, and he decided to do something about it. He said to himself, “It’s about time.” Barrett financed the project himself, hired some of New York’s finest musicians and arrangers, booked studio time, and produced the album himself, an album that was a year and a half in the making. It was well worth the wait. Thee album consisted of 10 carefully selected songs, each one specifically chosen for a personal reason, suited to his rich baritone style, his exquisite feeling for a lyric, his impeccable musical taste and his reverence of composers and lyricists of that genre. And one departure, “Can’t Let Our Love Hide,” written by Barrett’s son, Brad Albetta, and sung in a duet with Danny’s daughter, Danette. “That may be self-serving,” Barrett admitted at the time. “But what father wouldn’t be proud to sing a song with his daughter that was written by his son?” The album received wide and enthusiastic critical acclaim. Barrett was hailed as a “throwback,” a descendant of the great balladeers of the past, the Eckstines, Hartmans, Prysocks and Haymes’. And then he dropped out of sight. Where have you been, Danny Barrett? Restless and still unfulfilled, for the past decade he ostensibly lived a nomadic existence, relocating in Laguna Beach, California, for two years, then returning East to spend time in Vermont and upstate New York before settling again in New Jersey. “I endured some dark days that lasted several years,” Danny said. “I was suffering from acute anxiety and depression.” By 2003, Barrett had found peace, more peace than he has ever had in his life, and with that peace has come a renewed vigor and passion for his music. That peace, that passion and vigor, has manifested itself in a brand, new album, “Indian Summer,” to be released in the fall of 2004. The musical taste is still there, so is the lush baritone voice, the careful phrasing and the faithfulness to the lyric. But you will hear something else, something that was missing in the past. It’s a calmness, an inner peace, and the unmistakable sense that, for the first time, Danny Barrett believes the future is optimistic. |