Daniel Rodriguez Media Archives

By Shauna Marlette

Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:43 PM CST

For Daniel Rodriguez, being known as "the singing policeman" has opened doors

across the world. Yet, when he comes to Yankton on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the

Summit Center Theatre as part of the Yankton Area Concert Association's

2009-2010 Concert Season, the story he will tell is that of a man who has

trained since he was a child in order to be where he is now.

"I took the opportunity to do this tour in order to tell my story," Rodriguez

said during a phone interview with the Press & Dakotan. "Most people believe

that my career started after 9/11, which is far from the truth. This concert

series tells the story of Daniel Rodriguez before 9/11."

The 107-city tour — which started in September and ends in May — will feature

songs ranging from what Rodriguez called "classic crossover to Nelson Eddie

songs and everything in between," taking advantage of the training he has

received since before age 12, when he made his professional debut in New York

City.

"I made a Carnegie Hall solo debut when I was 16," he said. "Music has always

been a part of my life, but like with anyone's life, it doesn't always proceed

in a straight line — there are twists and turns. The show tells the story of my

life before 9/11 and the music and people that were important to me."

Rodriguez said that when he was 20 he felt he needed to find a "real" job,

something with benefits to help support his young family. During the next four

years he moved from job to job until he finally realized that for him,

everything good in his life was based on music and he needed to find his way

back to it.

"At 24, I did set out doing a concert again on my own, working at getting my

career again," he said. "I was working in the Post Office, so I started out as

the singing postman before I was the singing policeman. So I had my day job, and

at night I was a singer anywhere that someone would listen. At that point I was

very, very satisfied with where my life was at."

When he made the move to the New York Police Department they very quickly

discovered his talent for singing, so much so that even at his graduation from

police academy, he was named an official singer of the National Anthem. That

designation led to singing engagements across the country.

"You have to remember that all this time I had been training to sing opera,

since the age of 12, I had been training and developing a very, very big voice,"

Rodriguez said. "By 1998-99 I was very well known as the singing policeman. I

had sang at the White House, the Governor had called several times, I had sang

at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the mayor had called several times, I sang at the

150th anniversary of New York on the steps of the capitol building. I was doing

a lot of high-profile events as a police officer, so the police office became my

first booking agent."

Rodriguez never lost his dream of performing on Broadway. In fact, when 9/11

occurred, he was in preparation to begin a three-month run in a show, but again

his life was to take a different path.

"All of those twists have served me very well," he said. "They have shown me who

I am as a singer, as a person. Now I travel through the heartland sharing that

faith and family and having a lot of fun. I am as rich as I ever want to be

right now, because I have my family with me. The things that really matter most,

family, faith, friendship and having fun. I have (these) every day, and there is

no monetary value you can put on that."

The show that Rodriguez is bringing to Yankton also features jazz pianist Jesse

Lynch, an emerging New York City pianist, and Marla and Marissa, a vocal duo

from New Zealand.

"It is a great show. I tell the story of my life, Jesse does a solo that gives

it a great swing sound and the girls sing songs that are harmonic," Rodriguez

said. "There is really something for everyone in the concert."