Jeff Daniels is well known for his achievements in his acting career. Having been nominated for Golden Globes, Primetime Emmy Awards, and Tony Awards, and appearing in films such as Arachnophobia, Dumb and Dumber, and Speed, he has established an impressive and varied acting career. However, most aren’t aware that Jeff Daniels also dabbles in writing music. For many, the first time they became aware of Jeff’s hidden talent was when he appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Bringing out his acoustic guitar, Jeff introduced the song by describing it as a love song to his guitar, inspired by the times when “you’re sitting out on the porch with just your best friend, the guitar.” He then proceeded to sing an original song entitled ‘When My Fingers Find Your Strings’. Kelly Clarkson’s jaw dropped as she was blown away by the beauty of the song, asking the audience, “What is happening?” By the end of the heartfelt song, both Jeff and Kelly were moved to tears.
Not only were Kelly and the audience amazed by the beauty of the song, but so were viewers of the online video. The video shot to over 1.4M views in under 10 days. Fans gathered in the comments to show their appreciation for the performance, with one viewer commenting, “Jeff Daniels isn’t even known for music, yet that was one of the most heartfelt, poetic and well-structured songs I’ve ever heard. Not to mention some pretty good guitar playing. That, folks, is talent!”
In the interview segment of the show, Jeff Daniels revealed to Kelly that he has written around 450 original songs over the years. He explained that songwriting had become a source of solace and comfort during his early years of acting, as it was a creative outlet he had full control over. He said that it had become his backup plan, and that he thought he could “fail as an actor and then fail as a singer-songwriter”. It now appears he has failed to fail at both.
Jeff Daniels now has over 10 albums on Spotify and iTunes, released between 2004 and 2020. Alongside that, he has his own website, where all of his music is released, along with information about his live appearances and acting projects. Jeff’s success in both his acting career and his musical talents just goes to show there is no reason for creatives to box themselves in, and the lyrics of his song remind listeners that the joy of creativity is often the greatest gift of all.
