Daniel O'Donnell - Crawford Bell

Daniel O'Donnell talking about Crawford Bell

Transcript

00:00This is Daniel O'Donnell here. I just want, I'm delighted first of all to get the chance to send this message to you for the paper.

00:12I had the privilege of knowing Crawford Bell almost all of my career.

00:17He started working on my albums way back in 1987, himself and Trina and Leon.

00:25And there was no better trio for doing backing and Crawford was at the helm of that.

00:32He put together the arrangements and they were just beautiful.

00:37I then was lucky enough to have him work with me, with Trina and Leon for a number of years.

00:43And that was just fantastic, you know, to have him on the road.

00:48And, you know, above all of his ability to sing and to create music, he was a very, very special individual.

00:58That, you know, above all the other things, it was his person that impressed people most and his quiet disposition.

01:07Crawford wasn't somebody that came into the room and the room was in disarray.

01:11He came in very quietly and it was only after a while that you realise his presence.

01:17So he created a lovely, I suppose if we look at a boat, we see the wake that the boat leaves.

01:25And some boats leave a huge wake and others just go along the top of the water and it's beautiful to look after them.

01:33That's what Crawford was like.

01:35He was like the boat that just goes smoothly and doesn't cause any disturbance, but creates beautiful things as he goes along.

01:46So I was just blessed to have him for, you know, so long, both in my life and in my career.

01:54He's a great loss to people in the music business, but he is a huge loss to his family, to Hazel and the boys.

02:02They are the ones that lost the most and may he rest in peace.