Birth name Daniel Mayo Children Aimee Mayo, Cory Mayo | Name Danny Mayo Ex-spouse Becky Thornhill Role Songwriter | |
Awards Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year Similar People | ||
Danny Mayo
Danny "Bear" Mayo (October 2, 1950 – October 2, 1999) was an American songwriter, primarily known for writing country hits for artists such as Alabama, Tracy Byrd, Pirates of the Mississippi and Confederate Railroad. Byrd's "The Keeper of the Stars", which he wrote with Dickey Lee and Karen Staley, was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1995.
Contents
Keeper of the Stars - Well Hungarians
Biography
Danny Mayo grew up in Gadsden, Alabama. He graduated Emma Sansom High School. He then joined the United States Navy and moved to Charleston, South Carolina.
Personal life
He was married to Becky Thornhill (née Harwood), but they divorced before he moved to Nashville. They have two children, Aimee Mayo and Cory Mayo, both songwriters themselves.
Death
Mayo was staying at the Ramada Inn in Nashville for his 49th birthday celebration. His son, Cory, wrote his very first song for his father's birthday. However, when he did not arrive at the Broken Spoke Saloon, a songwriters cafe in the hotel, friends went to check on his welfare. Hotel management had to open the room door, and upon doing so, Mayo was found dead from a heart attack.