Michael Dean Daniel

Michael Dean Daniel was born on July 5, 1952 in Lubbock, Texas to Archie Clyde and Marjorie Allean Daniel. It’s difficult to write everything there is to know about Mike because he was a man of many talents. Musician, singer, songwriter, children’s book author, bullwhip maker, drumstick maker to making the best beef jerky anyone ever tasted…Mike could do just about anything that he set his mind to do. From the time Mike was a little kid, he was “drumming” on everything he could. He would grab a spoon and run to beat on the corner table in the living room. He just seemed to be a natural percussionist. Not only could he play the drums but he played the guitar, piano, harmonica and jew’s harp, all by ear without having any lessons, except for a brief attempt at piano lessons, which were quickly abandoned, not by Mike but by his teacher…She just didn’t know how to teach a student like Mike! He could listen to a song once, and play it on the piano, guitar or drums. He was a musical prodigy. After begging for drums for several years, Mike finally got a snare drum and a cymbal for Christmas one year. At age, 14 or 15, he formed his first band with Gerald Coomer and Buddy Green called the 42nd Street Enterprise. By age 16, Mike was teaching drum lessons at Jent’s House of Music and decided to place a notice on the bulletin board at the back of the store….a drummer in search of a band. As fate would have it, Ricky Mayfield and Randy Taylor were a guitar and bass player in search of a drummer, so Passover was formed along with keyboardist, Mike Robinson, in 1968. A few years later, after winning a “Battle of the Bands” Contest, Passover was able to record two of Mike’s original songs, Concern and Looking in Tomorrow, at a studio in Dallas. Eventually, Passover became Oedipus Rex and continued on as a three piece band with much area success in the 70’s! After 9 years playing with Ricky and Randy, geographical changes caused Oedipus Rex to dissolve and Mike joined a band called Celebration along with Paul and David Teneyuque, Danny Navarette,and Charlie Cadena. With Celebration, they opened for Pure Prairie League and Bill Kerns wrote article for the AJ titled, “Celebration Outclasses Headline Band” and spoke of Mike’s showmanship and his ability to get the crowd excited about the show. In 1980 and for the next seven years, Mike played with a band called Maverick, including Michael “Xray” Corbin, Dannie Hagood, Don Jones, and Gary Berkey and recorded his original song “Take a Heart and Hold on”. In 1991, Mike wrote his children’s story, “The Littledoobiddles and Doobetterdees” which was eventually published for the first time in 1995. Because he had a huge heart and was so generous, he gave away more books than he ever sold and without a doubt touched the lives of many children. He spoke at numerous schools and writing conventions over the years. Mike has written many other stories and poems and hoped someday to publish other works. Along the way, Mike witnessed to countless people in the coffee shops of Lubbock about his love for Jesus. His faith was strong and he could practically quote the entire Bible. Anytime he could help people, Mike was in his glory. He said that the world would be a better place if everyone would simply follow the advice of little children…to be nice and help people! One of his favorite things to say was that Jesus is inside us, through us, above us, and below us. He was truly a Man of God! The last thing Mike said to his sister, Donna, after being diagnosed with a massive hemorrhagic stroke was, “It’s in God’s Hands…” and we can all be assured that Mike is in God’s Hands in Heaven as he walks the streets of Gold.