The singer/songwriter, who could also play piano and guitar, started working with manager Bill Johnson. Johnson, whose client list included Gino Vannelli, took his new recruit to Los Angeles in pursuit of more opportunities toward the end of the '70s. Unfortunately, McDaniel was left to fend for himself when Johnson had to return to Louisiana. He networked with musicians, played out, and soon found steady work in the studios, playing for such artists as Dwight Yoakam, John Mayall, and Jackson Browne. He also found work performing voice-overs in advertisements and soundtracks and during the late '80s joined Stephen Stills on tour. Despite his success, McDaniel wanted more, including the opportunity to sing his own compositions. With his own funds, he laid down a number of tracks for which he played all of the instruments except one -- the drums. He returned to Crescent City with his recordings and started working with Steve Valentino, a producer, who worked as a solo artist with McDaniel on his first album, Bad for Me.
McDaniel made the most of his return to New Orleans, frequently playing gigs and recording. Carlo Ditta, another New Orleans producer, started working with McDaniel when he was recording his sophomore album, Worth the Price. Ditta requested that he play on an album being recorded by a blues vocalist who was a fellow native of New Orleans, Marva Wright. Thanks to his appearance on Wright's release, he came to the attention of Phillip LeBras, an executive in France's recording industry. This contact led to the release of Worth the Price on a Virgin Record's subsidiary, Skybranch/Virgin. McDaniel's video for the song Rosa did extremely well in France, and he embarked on tours of the country and made appearances at a number of festivals. McDaniel then struck out on his own to produce his next release, Tired Angels. The title track was voted Song of the Year by readers of Offbeat magazine. McDaniel went on to tour with fellow Louisianan Tab Benoit. He self-produced his next effort, The Blues Side. ~ Linda Seida, Rovi