Early years The duo began while they were friends and classmates at
W. W. Samuell High School in
Dallas,
Texas, United States. Seals and Coley performed first as part of local cover bands, including Playboys Five and Theze Few. They recorded a series of demos in Nashville as The Shimmerers, but their prospects ended with the death of their producer, before he could secure a recording deal for them. Their next grouping was Dallas pop/psych group
Southwest F.O.B. ("Freight on Board"), whose material has been re-released on CD by the
Sundazed label. Seals was the younger brother of
Jim Seals of the 1970s
soft rock duo
Seals and Crofts. Both toured the Texas music scene where Southwest F.O.B. had one charting song, "The Smell of Incense", which rose to No. 56 on the pop chart in 1968. This band played on the bill with such acts as
Led Zeppelin. While in the group, Seals and Coley began their own acoustic act,
Colley and Wayland. The act was renamed England Dan & John Ford Coley, and the duo signed with
A&M Records in 1970. Dan and John were paired with producer
Kyle Lehning, who had also produced McGee's demo. The result was a US No. 2 hit single in September 1976, which ultimately sold two million copies. July 1976 saw the release of England Dan & John Ford Coley's debut album for Big Tree,
Nights Are Forever, also produced by Lehning. Years later, Coley returned to Christianity, but Seals remained Baháʼí until his death. Their second Big Tree LP,
Dowdy Ferry Road, followed in March 1977, yielding the hit singles, "It's Sad To Belong (To Someone Else)" (No. 21) (written by
Randy Goodrum) and Coley's "Gone Too Far" (No. 23). The pair are also credited with writing and performing "It's All Up To You", the theme song to the 1977 NBC teen drama series
James at 15. ''
Some Things Don't Come Easy'' (March 1978) provided "
We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again", which peaked at No. 9 and
Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive (March 1979) brought forth "
Love Is the Answer" (written by
Todd Rundgren), which was their last Top 10 hit and their final time in the Top 40 altogether, as follow-up "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart" stalled at No. 50 in late 1979. During their early years on the road, the two performers played as an acoustic duo, but during their "hit years" on Big Tree they toured with a backup band that included Danny Gorman (drums, percussion), Bubba Keith (guitar, backing vocals), John Leland (bass), Ovid Stevens (guitar) and Michael Vernacchio (keyboards, synthesizers). In March 1980, "In It For Love", one of two new recordings added to
The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley (December 1979), managed to reach only No. 53 as a single. After contributing songs to the movie
Just Tell Me You Love Me in 1980, the pair went their separate ways.
Aftermath The duo split in 1980 when Seals decided to pursue a career in
country music, where he found success throughout the 1980s, scoring hits such as "
Meet Me in Montana" (with
Marie Osmond) and "
Bop". Seals died on March 25, 2009, following treatment for
mantle cell lymphoma. Coley formed another group that released an album on A&M Records: Leslie, Kelly and John Ford Coley (featuring sisters Leslie and Kelly Bulkin), then went on to do television and film appearances in the 1980s. He returned to an active touring schedule in the 1990s and 2000s and was also co-producer for acts such as
Eddie Money (with
Vince Gill) and Tom Wurth. ==Discography==