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Artist
Dan Hicks
12+ albums
countryUSAwestern swing
about
Dan Hicks (born December 9, 1941 - Died February 6, 2016) was a musician whose style blends elements of folk and jazz (and bits of other genres, too). His music is also infused with a good dose of humor (e.g., one of his most popular songs: "How can I miss you when you won't go away"). Hicks was in the San Francisco band The Charlatans, but is perhaps best known for his work with "Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks" which existed from sometime in the mid-1960s until 1973, culminating in the album Last Train to Hicksville. Hicks was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on December 9, 1941. His father, Ivan L. Hicks (married to the former Evelyn Kehl), was a career military man. At age five, an only child, Hicks moved with his family to California, eventually settling north of San Francisco in Santa Rosa, where he was a drummer in grade school and played the snare drum in his school marching band. At 14, he was performing with area dance bands. While in high school, he had a rotating spot on Time Out for Teens, a daily 15-minute local radio program, and he went on to study broadcasting at San Francisco State College during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Taking up the guitar in 1959, he became part of the San Francisco folk music scene, performing at local coffeehouses. Hicks joined the San Francisco band The Charlatans in 1965 as drummer. In 1967, Hicks formed Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks with violinist David LaFlamme. LaFlamme left to form It's a Beautiful Day, and was quickly replaced by
