Billy Wilson

Daniel Allen Cribb was born June 13, 1968, in San Francisco, California, To Clyde Cribb Jr. (Woody), and Wilda Fay Cribb.

As a teenager in North Carolina during the 1950s, Woody, Dan’s father, played square dances with his friend John D. Loudermilk, a guitar student of Dan’s grandfather, Clyde Cribb Sr. Eventually, Woody joined the Navy, and Johnny Loudermilk moved to Nashville to become a song writer (Abilene, Tobacco Road), and right-hand man to Chet Atkins at RCA records. When Woody got back from overseas, he was stationed in San Francisco, where he met his future wife, Wilda, and played music with several bands at the famed “Dick’s Tower Club”, right across the street from the hallowed and revered “23 Club” in Brisbane, California. During Woody’s time at Dick’s Tower, he played with many up and coming acts like Bobby Bare, George Hamilton III, and Buck Owens. Eventually, Woody stopped playing in clubs, taught his lovely wife to play bass, and started playing music at the San Francisco Church of God.

At about the age of four, Dan expressed an interest in playing drums, so his loving mom obliged him, setting up furniture, pots and pans, and even actual drum pieces in front of the Hi Fi system for Dan to play with the Southern Gospel records. He started out cutting his teeth on music by groups such as The Blackwood Brothers, The Florida Boys, The Happy Goodmans, and The Oak Ridge Boys. At one point, Dan was able to stand at the real drum kit in church and play using only the bass pedal, ride cymbal, and the snare that was barely below his chest level.

At age seven, Dan was given his first guitar, and learned how to play guitar and bass, keeping in mind each instrument required its own approach. After the family moved to the Sacramento area in 1976, Dan played guitar and sang his first solo song, “Had It Not Been” in his church in Rio Linda, CA., at eight years old.
Other instruments came later – piano, ukulele, various percussion instruments, an old banjo, and then saxophone, which he learned in school while learning to read music, and develop a love for music theory.

At age eleven, Dan begged his parents for a Glen Miller album and started nurturing his new love for this music called “Swing”. As the old song said, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”, and that was how Dan felt…unless you were talking about Chet Atkins, Dan’s favorite guitarist on Earth. It didn’t take long though, for Dan to realize that Chet was playing with guys like Homer and Jethro, which made another connection to guys like Bob Wills and Hank Thompson. These were Country musicians that swung hard and steady. It was then that Dan started learning to adapt his rhythm playing to play with those guys too. It will always be a process, but a labor of love.

As a teen, Dan was also playing in church on a regular basis. He also did some bus rides and touring with secular groups as well. Later, he went to Bible College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as a music major, and returned to California to become music director in a few churches over the years. He taught, played, directed orchestra and choirs, arranged, sang, and learned sound engineering in churches whose memberships ranged from 100 to 10,000. Styles he played varied from Southern Gospel to black Gospel, to Disco, Salsa, Traditional Country, Jazz, and yes, Swing!

In the late 1990s, Dan started playing more in public venues, clubs, and parties. He has played from Coast to Coast, North to South and is now happy to stay as close to home as possible.

He has been honored over the years to play with and open for many different artists and friends. Some folks he has shared the stage with are Ray Darby, Don Diffie, Dennis Barney, Lolli Jones, Stew Stewart, Donn Weeks, Rick Leal, Warren Dorrell, Kenny Frye, Scott Joss, Biff Adam, 27 Outlaws, Gary Blodgett and Big Trouble, Jason Buell, Aaron Watson, Buck Ford, The Farm, Curtis and Lucky, Jeff Fenholt, Phil Vassar, Jimmy Swaggart, Frank Hannon, Society of Seven, and members of The Drifters.
Dan Cribb is very proud member in good standing with both the Sons of the American Legion, and the Western Swing Society. He loves his country, and he loves his music.