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Los Angeles Times

Published in the LA Times Jan 2002

(original article) Dec. 28, 2001  Jeff Rivers | Hartford Courant

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Rhapsody In Blue
by Paul J. Pelkonen, Mediabistro.com


Darkness fell on America on September 11. Yet out of that darkness
rose a voice which has brought light and hope to millions--the round,
mellifluous tenor of New York's own "singing cop"--Daniel Rodriguez.

In the weeks that followed the destruction of the World Trade Center
by terrorist-piloted passenger jets, baseball resumed, with the
Yankees marching to the World Series.

As the country recovered itself, the 37-year old singer and seven-year
veteran of the New York Police Department, became a fixture at the
Stadium, where his rendition of the Irving Berlin classic "God Bless
America" (a song originally made famous by another patriotic singer,
Kate Smith) replaced "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the seventh
inning stretch. The image of the New York cop with the natty uniform
and the big tenor voice belting his heart out for his wounded country
is one that stayed in the national consciousness. A record deal was
signed, a single version of "God Bless America" (and its b-side, "We
Will Go On") was recorded, and a full-length album has followed.

Those cuts, with ten others grace his debut CD, "The Spirit of America
(EMI/Manhattan which he recorded at a breakneck speed late last year.
The passion and pain of that day come through in his singing, be it
the spirited "God Bless America", a stirring "Into the Fire" (from
"The Scarlet Pimpernel") which brings out a pleasing baritonal color
in the voice, to the passionate reading of "Bring Him Home" from "Les
Miserables"--complete with a convincing falsetto high note at the end.
This is a voice that sings with soul, for the singer's soul has suffered.

Although "The Spirit of America" consists mainly of Broadway favorites
and patriotic songs, Rodriguez has begun to make the transition into
singing opera.

He is studying in the Alberto Vilar Young Artists Program, and
preparing his first role--Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme."

"It's like a dream," he says of his opportunity to study with Domingo.
There are great technical challenges in his path. "It's like a tap
dancer being asked to do ballet," he says. "In singing Broadway songs
you carry your emotions outside, on top of the song. In opera singing,
the emotions are built into the words and music. It's got to be in the
voice." He adds, "Technically, it's starting all over again."

Domingo is not the only singer to influence Rodriguez' style and
delivery. "I listen to everything," he enthuses. "All the operas I've
gotten--and I've been watching them on DVD too." He counts Jussi
Bjoerling, Mario del Monaco and Giuseppe di Stefano among "the great
ones." Mario Lanza was also a huge influence. "When I saw the movie
'The Great Caruso' starring Lanza, I was immediately taken by his
voice. To me, he epitomized the tenor. I wanted to be like him. I
listened to the nuances of his voice, and emulated his vocal technique
and eventually incorporated some of that into my own style of singing."

Hailing from the high hills of Sunset Park, a neighborhood just off
the industrial Brooklyn waterfront, Rodriguez was first discovered by
Juilliard-trained voice teacher Elliot Dorfman at a young age. Like
his idol, Placido Domingo, the future "singing policeman" was
originally trained as baritone (an early role was Judd Fry, the bad
guy in Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!") He even sang a baritone
recital at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall at the age of 17.

When he turned 30, Rodriguez decided to support his family by joining
the NYPD. In March, 1996, he wowed 2,000 fellow Academy graduates by
singing the National Anthem at the commencement at Madison Square Garden.

While he walked a beat in the 68th Precinct, Rodriguez struggled to
keep his singing career alive. "It was very difficult," he relates
"booking my own shows outside the NYPD schedule. I would plan concerts
for Friday nights, and for the weekend, balancing my career with my
other life. I'd sing showtunes and some opera, doing things from
'Boheme' and from 'Pagliacci.'"

He turns somber as he remembers the day when terrorist-piloted
jetliners destroyed the World Trade Center. "It was horrible, We rushed
out to the Verrazanno (Bridge, which connects Staten Island to
Brooklyn. We got to City Hall. There was no one there. No one.
Then the buildings collapsed."

In that darkness, Rodriguez recalls, there were was panic. "People
were being trampled," he says, and covered with debris."

He pauses. "You think you get over it--it's been so long almost nine
months—but you never really do. It's been so long since I've really
thought about it."

I still wake up at night and think about my lost friends. I will
always be proud of our heroes, and it will always be a part of me."

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Faith helps New York's 'singing cop' persevere
By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- Until six months ago, New Yorkers
knew Officer Daniel Rodriguez as the city's singing cop.

But since the Sept. 11 terror attacks that brought down the
World Trade Center, America and the world also have
begun to know the talents of the Catholic policeman.

Rodriguez has sung "God Bless America," "America the
Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" at
baseball's World Series, the opening ceremonies of the
Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and a host of other
public events, including a prayer service at Yankee
Stadium shortly after the attacks.

"Faith" is how Rodriguez says he has gotten through
the past half-year knowing that his growing fame is
the result of a collective national tragedy -- and
thousands of individual tragedies.

"My singing ability is a gift. But it's more than a gift.
It's a responsibility. When you are given a gift, you have
to use it responsibly," said Rodriguez, who has
regularly sung at the funerals of fallen officers.

Rodriguez, a lyric "spinto" -- a tenor with the range to reach
lower notes -- is on leave from the NY Police Department
for three months of lessons with opera star Placido
Domingo, artistic director of the Washington Opera.

Rodriguez conducted an interview with Catholic News
Service en route from his temporary apartment in the
Washington suburb of Arlington, Va., to the Washington
Opera's studio, where he was to have his first yoga
lesson. "I tried to beg off," the stocky Rodriguez
said. "The last time I touched my toes I was a baby."
By Rodriguez's own admission, he slid into alcohol & depression
until about age 25. He then sobered up, and got a job on
the police force while pursuing anew a singing career.

The two weren't always compatible. "On those winter
mornings when you're directing traffic,  you're hacking
from a cough, you wonder how much voice you're going to
have left," he told CNS. "I've had pneumonia twice."

But Rodriguez recovered sufficiently from the
pneumonia to sustain a closing note during a rehearsal
for the Emmy Awards broadcast that impressed jazz
saxophonist Tom Scott, who was conducting the
orchestra for the ceremony. Scott got three record
labels interested in Rodriguez, who chose EMI to
release "God Bless America" as a single last December
and an album, "The Spirit of America," in February.
The album was in the 150s on Billboard magazine's "Hot
200" chart of albums.

It's been a stunning turnaround. Even as recently as
last spring, when then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
lined up an audition for Rodriguez at the Metropolitan
Opera, his auditioner dismissed him, saying, "What
makes you think a cop can be an opera singer?"

But Rodriguez persevered. In addition to the odd
singing job, he performed cantor duties at St.
Alphonsus Church in Brooklyn and St. Patrick Church in
Bay Ridge, N.Y. He's since sung at St. Patrick's
Cathedral in New York.

Singing snatches of opera, Broadway and Tin Pan Alley
standards, and more recent pop songs to punctuate his
points during the interview, Rodriguez had advice for
others who sing in church.

First, he recommends going to a voice teacher or vocal
coach so that the singer can determine his or her true
range. He also recommends plenty of rest. "If you are
up early and going to bed late, or running all over
the place doing things, you are going to be too
exhausted to sing properly, the way you have to and
the way you want to," Rodriguez said.

It's a subject that's of growing importance to him.
The evening of the CNS interview, Rodriguez flew back
to New York for a concert; the following week, he was
to appear on "Oprah" and fly to Mexico for a concert.

"But the most important thing of all is that you have to
enjoy what you are doing," Rodriguez said. "If you enjoy
singing, it will come out in the music, & people will hear that."

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Tenor Wants to Be More Than the Singing Cop
Mireya Navarro Apr 8, 2002
Singing That Goes Beyond the Voice

It isn't as if nobody knew Daniel Rodriguez before.

He has appeared in front of tens of thousands of people at football
and baseball games. He has opened the televised theater showcase
"Broadway on Broadway" in Times Square for the last three years. And
he has been a fixture at countless weddings, charity benefits and
memorials for fallen colleagues. But it was not until the aftermath of
the Sept. 11 attack, when his tenor voice soothed mourners at funeral
after funeral and his a cappella rendition of "God Bless America" at
public events captured the dignity and patriotism of a grieving
nation, that Officer Daniel Rodriguez of the New York City Police
Department was catapulted into celebrity status.

Officer Rodriguez now has a manager and booking agent, a recording
contract and just- released CD, scheduled performances through the
year and a new challenge - to shed his 9/11 pathos.

"I never gave up the dream, even while being a cop," Officer
Rodriguez, 37, said of his singing career. "Right now my focus is on
legitimizing myself as a performer beyond `the singing police officer.' "

Executives at Manhattan Records, a new division of EMI Records that
signed Officer Rodriguez as its first artist last fall, say there is
no question that Officer Rodriguez's popularity is tied to the
emotions wrought by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Ian Ralfini, the label's vice president and co-general manager, admits
that he was deeply moved watching Officer Rodriguez on television
partly because he witnessed the first plane hit the towers from his
apartment in Lower Manhattan.

"He was the voice people could cry to," Mr. Ralfini said.
But he and many others also see in Officer Rodriguez an appealing and
talented performer who can sing in operas, with symphony orchestras or
in Broadway musicals, a tenor less highbrow than a Pavarotti or
Domingo who can appeal to mass audiences and sell hundreds of
thousands of records; in other words, America's tenor.

His first CD, a collection of Broadway standards and patriotic,
religious and traditional songs called "The Spirit of America," hit
the stores yesterday.

Next month, he is due in Washington for 13 weeks of voice and language
training with the Vilar/Domingo Young Artist Program of the Washington
Opera at the invitation of Placido Domingo, the company's artistic
director."It's a solid voice," said Ed Purrington, artistic consultant
to the young artist program. "It's beautifully and evenly produced and
it has meat to it. He projects self-assurance and a love of singing
and I'm sure that will translate into operatic work in which
enthusiasm is an important ingredient for success."

Officer Rodriguez also has a PBS special in the works, plans for a CD
(and maybe a Broadway show) of Mario Lanza music and scheduled
performances with symphony orchestras from Boston to Atlanta to
Minneapolis. But Officer Rodriguez had fans before Sept. 11. As a
child, he took voice lessons, and by 17 had his first recital at
Carnegie Hall.

Born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents - his father was a Transit
Authority bus mechanic, his mother a factory worker and now a home
care attendant - he said both his father and paternal grandfather sang
as a hobby and that he developed an early passion for singing.

But Mr. Rodriguez also married early, at 19, and soon had a son and a
daughter to support. He kept singing at weddings, at churches, at
benefits, but family responsibilities sidetracked him into a series of
jobs. He worked as a cook, truck driver, cabinetmaker, undercover
security officer and postal worker. Seven years ago, after deciding he
needed a steady job, Mr. Rodriguez joined the police force, first as a
patrol and vice officer, then in the security detail at Police
Headquarters and as a community relations officer. But in a
foreshadowing of what was to come, he was "discovered" by his
superiors when he sang the national anthem at his police academy
graduation and was immediately assigned to the Police Department's
ceremonial unit in addition to his regular police work. That meant
singing at everything from Major League games to street naming
ceremonies."I became the official national anthem singer for the
N.Y.P.D.," he told a crowd of well-wishers at his CD release party
Monday night.

At the patrol force that oversees southern Manhattan, on East 21st
Street, where Officer Rodriguez last worked as a community relations
officer, Chief Allan Hoehl said he had no qualms about using him as a
public relations weapon. Once, he said, he let Officer Rodriguez
perform one song at a community gathering and then told the crowd he
would bring him back on only if they revealed crime-related problems
in their neighborhoods. "They finally opened up and started giving us
locations" of trouble spots, the chief said with a grin.

On Sept. 11, Officer Rodriguez was driving to work on the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at 9:30 a.m. when he saw the smoke from the
towers. He rushed to Police Headquarters and, he said, the rest of the
day and week became a blur, helping solve communications problems,
transporting rescue workers and securing buildings near the disaster
area to prevent looting. But during those sad and hectic days, Officer
Rodriguez was also called on to sing his heart out. First he was
enlisted to sing at the Sept. 23 interfaith service held at Yankee
Stadium. Then he sang at funeral and memorial services for victims,
some for friends who had perished. And as every public gathering
began with Officer Rodriguez's "God Bless America," his rendering
threatened to dethrone Kate Smith's.

Over the last week alone, he flew to Salt Lake City to sing "God
Bless America" at the Olympics opening ceremonies, to San Jose,
Calif., to sing at a sheriff's officers dinner and back to New York to
sing at a charity function and, yesterday, at Tower Records near
Lincoln Center to promote the CD. A crowd of about 50 store customers,
more than one teary-eyed, sang "God Bless America" along with him.

"He deserves fame because he's such a talented person," said Jennifer
Luongo, 29, a teacher from Manhattan who bought two of Officer
Rodriguez's CD's. "He's got a great personality and a beautiful voice."

The Police Department has allowed Officer Rodriguez to take a leave
for his trip to Washington and remains extremely supportive of his
singing career. At the CD release party Monday night, the first deputy
police commissioner, George A. Grasso, received a $50,000 check for
the city's Twin Towers Fund, the first proceeds of Officer Rodriguez's
first single - "God Bless America, " of course - released in December.
It was Daniel's idea to produce the single and donate all the proceeds.

"We're very proud of him," Commissioner Grasso said. "I can't think of
a better and more sincere ambassador of good will to the world. It's
really what New York cops are all about."The commissioner said the
department was leaving it up to Officer Rodriguez to decide whether to
stay with the force. But Chief Hoehl, his boss at the Manhattan South
patrol force, has already told him to pack his bags."I told him my
goal is to see him leave the Police Department and take off and do
well with the God- given gift that he has," Chief Hoehl said. "As well
as he sings, that's the kind of person he is also. It couldn't
have happened to a nicer person."

But Officer Rodriguez seems reluctant to leave the financial security.
With an 18-year-old son in college and an 11-year-old daughter, he
said he wanted to wait until June, when his leave ends, to decide
whether to hang up his uniform.

That his fame is a result of the Sept. 11 disaster does not
particularly trouble Officer Rodriguez, who considers his voice "a
blessing" and insists he has never been after major stardom or
fortune, only the opportunity to sing full time.

"Music to me is a ministry," he said. "I'm not a rock star or a pop
singer driving around in fantasy cars. I do what God led me do."

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New York City's Singing Cop Becomes 'America's Tenor'
By Bernie Bernard
May 2002

Daniel Rodriguez is a New York City police officer
who captivated the country with his version of "God Bless America" at
one of the tribute concerts televised after the September 11 terrorist
attacks. He's just released his debut solo album, The Spirit of America,
and is currently studying with renowned tenor Placido Domingo at the
Washington Opera in the Nation's Capitol.

Officer Daniel Rodriguez has helped heal the nation with his songs of
hope. He has also sung the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium and at the
opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Growing up in New York City, Daniel listened to rock music as well as
Broadway tunes and operas. He started singing professionally at age 12.
When Rodriguez became a family man at age 20, he had to put his musical
career aside.

Daniel said the New York City Police Department offered the financial
security he was seeking. "I like the idea of being center stage in life,"
he said, "in the big city that's New York. So, I took the test and I
passed it, and I went to the [police] academy. And it was probably what
re-animated my career. I became the official National Anthem singer for the
Police Department."

On his debut album, The Spirit of America, Daniel Rodriguez offers a
collection of patriotic, folk, classical and inspirational songs. He
also chose Broadway tunes, such as "Bring Him Home, "This Is The Moment"
and "Into The Fire," that inspire determination and hope. Officer
Rodriguez said, "These are songs that, at one point in my life, I heard
and said, 'that is so beautiful. I would love to record that, I
would love to sing that.' I'm glad you mentioned 'Into The Fire,' because
that happens to be one of my favorites. 'Into The Fire' is a song of
triumph, of going through adversity and coming out on the other end
triumphant. And I think our country has done the same thing."

Following his high-visibility performances in the past few months,
Daniel Rodriguez was invited to study with Placido Domingo the Washington
Opera Company at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Now on a year-long leave of absence from the police department, the
singing officer knows exactly what he wants to gain from this
opportunity."I wish to find what roles in the opera best suit my voice," he
continued, "and I wish to come away with at least two roles that I can take out
to the world and show another side of Daniel Rodriguez. Broadway has
some beautiful songs and some gorgeous notes, but it doesn't really show
the full color of the voice as opera will. And I want the world to see
that I am versatile, and that I can go where very few singers have gone,
just by sheer will."

Daniel Rodriguez said he is comfortable with the idea that people are
looking at him as a symbol of the American spirit.

"People have referred to me as 'America's Tenor,'" he said, "'The
Voice of a Nation' or 'The Voice That Healed a Nation.' And I feel very, very
proud to be given those titles, because music to me was always a ministry.
Everything in my life has always been directed by faith. And so, I feel
that I've been blessed with a voice that touches people, and my
responsibility is to share it with as many people as possible. And so
if that comes with the title of 'America's Tenor' or whatnot, then I'll
accept that title gladly and try to represent the title."

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