Biography
Los Angeles-rooted vocalist, composer, and guitarist Dan Navarro devoted the bulk of his professional life to a collaborative songwriting and stage partnership with Eric Lowen. Born on September 14, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, he was the child of publicist Gabriel Navarro, Jr., and Josephine (Lucero) Navarro. The household relocated in 1957 to Calexico, a town on the Mexican border. Returning to Los Angeles, Navarro enrolled at UCLA in 1969, where he first took up guitar and began composing during his second year. Departing campus in 1974, he pursued music-industry opportunities, landing an initial credit when outlaw-country performer Rusty Wier cut his composition “I Think It’s Time (I Learned How to Let Her Go)” in 1976.
In 1977 Navarro worked as a singing waiter in West Hollywood before joining Severin Browne for a short tour in 1978. Upon his return he discovered that Lowen had taken his place; the two struck up a friendship that soon led to joint writing and performing. After Navarro passed nearly a year in England in 1980, he rejoined Lowen’s power-pop outfit Bon Mot. The band gigged around Los Angeles through the early 1980s yet failed to secure a contract, prompting Navarro’s exit in 1983 so he could retain his day job at his uncle’s advertising agency. He nevertheless kept writing, placing material in the television films The Mogul (1984) and Surviving (1985).
Recognition arrived when Pat Benatar included the Navarro-Lowen song “We Belong” on her November 24, 1984 album Tropico; the single climbed to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 by January 5, 1985. That same year Navarro and David Bryant supplied “Remember Your Heart” for Dionne Warwick’s gold-certified Friends collection, issued in December. Lowen and Navarro contributed “It’s Time to Move” to Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) and “[She’s A] Wild Card” to Casual Sex? (1988), while Navarro performed “Party Tonight” on the Roxanne soundtrack (1987). Brought in for the Bangles’ October 1988 release Everything, they co-wrote “Something to Believe In” with David White and Michael Steele and “I’ll Set You Free” with White and Susanna Hoffs; the album reached the Top 20 and earned platinum status. Another Hoffs-Lowen-Navarro track, “Everything I Wanted,” later appeared on the Bangles’ May 1990 platinum Greatest Hits package.
Following the success of “We Belong,” Lowen assembled the band 20 Times. By the late 1980s the pair opted to perform as a duo. They launched Lowen & Navarro with a January 1988 residency at the Breakaway in Venice, California, delivering two-part harmonies over acoustic guitars within the emerging nu-folk scene. A January 31, 1989 showcase at Club Lingerie was taped and eventually issued in 1996 as Live Wire. Signed to startup Chameleon Records, they released their debut studio album Walking on a Wire on May 12, 1990; “What I Make Myself Believe” from that set appeared in the 1991 film Blue Desert. Navarro also co-wrote “Test of Love” with Billy Burnette for Dave Edmunds’ 1990 album Closer to the Flame. Chameleon’s 1991 restructuring dropped the duo, yet they scored another hit when they joined the Triplets—Diana, Sylvia, and Vicky Villegas—in writing “You Don’t Have to Go Home Tonight,” which Mercury released and which reached the Top 20 in May 1991. The label’s Parachute imprint then issued Broken Moon on October 20, 1993, and Pendulum on August 30, 1995; “Just to See You” from the former featured in the 1994 film Color of Night. Parachute soon folded.
Lowen & Navarro formed Red Hen Records and put out Live Wire before moving to Atlanta-based Intersound, which reissued the live set and followed with Scratch at the Door on August 25, 1998. Still without a permanent label, they cultivated an audience through folk-club and festival touring. On August 21, 2001, Artemis Records released Jacob Young’s self-titled album, to which Lowen and Navarro contributed songs, performances, and vocals. Red Hen resurfaced with the February 21, 2002 collection Live Radio, drawn from 1990s appearances on the Los Angeles program FolkScene. Their holiday album At Long Last… Christmas arrived November 1, 2002. A February 8, 2003 opening slot for Don Conoscenti at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, yielded the live set 3 for the Road: Live! at Eddie's Attic, issued later that year by Mad Raine.
While Lowen & Navarro were crowd-funding their next studio album, Lowen received an ALS diagnosis on March 17, 2004. They completed All the Time in the World nonetheless, releasing it September 21, 2004. Throughout his career Navarro supplied backup vocals on numerous sessions, especially Spanish-language projects, appearing on recordings by Luis Miguel, José José, Julio Iglesias, José Feliciano, Jon Anderson, and Enrique Iglesias, plus soundtracks for Batman Forever, The Emperor's New Groove, The Mexican, Man on Fire, That Old Feeling, and Envy, as well as assorted television series and commercials. From the mid-2000s onward he added credits with Neil Young and the Kennedys and contributed to the animated features Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009).
With Lowen’s health declining, the duo recorded the covers collection Hogging the Covers (October 16, 2006), issued the live DVD Carry on Together… (July 3, 2007, AIX Entertainment), and released the original-material album Learning to Fall, co-billed with longtime sideman Phil Parlapiano, on December 2, 2008. Their final performance together took place June 6, 2009, in Alexandria, Virginia. One week later Navarro, backed by Stonehoney, played McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Los Angeles, launching his solo career; Red Hen issued the recording as Live at McCabe’s later that year. On January 5, 2010, AIX released the charity album Keep the Light Alive: Celebrating the Music of Lowen & Navarro, benefiting ALS organizations and featuring interpretations by Jackson Browne, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, Keb’ Mo’, the Bangles, and others. The duo’s twelfth annual Mexican-coast cruise ran January 3–10, 2010.
In 1977 Navarro worked as a singing waiter in West Hollywood before joining Severin Browne for a short tour in 1978. Upon his return he discovered that Lowen had taken his place; the two struck up a friendship that soon led to joint writing and performing. After Navarro passed nearly a year in England in 1980, he rejoined Lowen’s power-pop outfit Bon Mot. The band gigged around Los Angeles through the early 1980s yet failed to secure a contract, prompting Navarro’s exit in 1983 so he could retain his day job at his uncle’s advertising agency. He nevertheless kept writing, placing material in the television films The Mogul (1984) and Surviving (1985).
Recognition arrived when Pat Benatar included the Navarro-Lowen song “We Belong” on her November 24, 1984 album Tropico; the single climbed to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 by January 5, 1985. That same year Navarro and David Bryant supplied “Remember Your Heart” for Dionne Warwick’s gold-certified Friends collection, issued in December. Lowen and Navarro contributed “It’s Time to Move” to Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) and “[She’s A] Wild Card” to Casual Sex? (1988), while Navarro performed “Party Tonight” on the Roxanne soundtrack (1987). Brought in for the Bangles’ October 1988 release Everything, they co-wrote “Something to Believe In” with David White and Michael Steele and “I’ll Set You Free” with White and Susanna Hoffs; the album reached the Top 20 and earned platinum status. Another Hoffs-Lowen-Navarro track, “Everything I Wanted,” later appeared on the Bangles’ May 1990 platinum Greatest Hits package.
Following the success of “We Belong,” Lowen assembled the band 20 Times. By the late 1980s the pair opted to perform as a duo. They launched Lowen & Navarro with a January 1988 residency at the Breakaway in Venice, California, delivering two-part harmonies over acoustic guitars within the emerging nu-folk scene. A January 31, 1989 showcase at Club Lingerie was taped and eventually issued in 1996 as Live Wire. Signed to startup Chameleon Records, they released their debut studio album Walking on a Wire on May 12, 1990; “What I Make Myself Believe” from that set appeared in the 1991 film Blue Desert. Navarro also co-wrote “Test of Love” with Billy Burnette for Dave Edmunds’ 1990 album Closer to the Flame. Chameleon’s 1991 restructuring dropped the duo, yet they scored another hit when they joined the Triplets—Diana, Sylvia, and Vicky Villegas—in writing “You Don’t Have to Go Home Tonight,” which Mercury released and which reached the Top 20 in May 1991. The label’s Parachute imprint then issued Broken Moon on October 20, 1993, and Pendulum on August 30, 1995; “Just to See You” from the former featured in the 1994 film Color of Night. Parachute soon folded.
Lowen & Navarro formed Red Hen Records and put out Live Wire before moving to Atlanta-based Intersound, which reissued the live set and followed with Scratch at the Door on August 25, 1998. Still without a permanent label, they cultivated an audience through folk-club and festival touring. On August 21, 2001, Artemis Records released Jacob Young’s self-titled album, to which Lowen and Navarro contributed songs, performances, and vocals. Red Hen resurfaced with the February 21, 2002 collection Live Radio, drawn from 1990s appearances on the Los Angeles program FolkScene. Their holiday album At Long Last… Christmas arrived November 1, 2002. A February 8, 2003 opening slot for Don Conoscenti at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, yielded the live set 3 for the Road: Live! at Eddie's Attic, issued later that year by Mad Raine.
While Lowen & Navarro were crowd-funding their next studio album, Lowen received an ALS diagnosis on March 17, 2004. They completed All the Time in the World nonetheless, releasing it September 21, 2004. Throughout his career Navarro supplied backup vocals on numerous sessions, especially Spanish-language projects, appearing on recordings by Luis Miguel, José José, Julio Iglesias, José Feliciano, Jon Anderson, and Enrique Iglesias, plus soundtracks for Batman Forever, The Emperor's New Groove, The Mexican, Man on Fire, That Old Feeling, and Envy, as well as assorted television series and commercials. From the mid-2000s onward he added credits with Neil Young and the Kennedys and contributed to the animated features Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009).
With Lowen’s health declining, the duo recorded the covers collection Hogging the Covers (October 16, 2006), issued the live DVD Carry on Together… (July 3, 2007, AIX Entertainment), and released the original-material album Learning to Fall, co-billed with longtime sideman Phil Parlapiano, on December 2, 2008. Their final performance together took place June 6, 2009, in Alexandria, Virginia. One week later Navarro, backed by Stonehoney, played McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Los Angeles, launching his solo career; Red Hen issued the recording as Live at McCabe’s later that year. On January 5, 2010, AIX released the charity album Keep the Light Alive: Celebrating the Music of Lowen & Navarro, benefiting ALS organizations and featuring interpretations by Jackson Browne, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, Keb’ Mo’, the Bangles, and others. The duo’s twelfth annual Mexican-coast cruise ran January 3–10, 2010.
Albums
Singles
Live
