Singer-songwriter Pat Dailey remembered as legend

PUT-IN-BAY — Pat Dailey — who many said left an indelible mark on the Ohio music and tourist scene — passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in his Bay Village, Ohio, home surrounded by his family. He was 83. Dailey had many monikers bestowed on him by his loyal fans, such as "The Legend of the Lake" and "The Coolest S.O.B. in the World." He had become one of the most successful, long-running one-man, barroom entertainers in the nation. He played at many venues in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of fans. This included many notable theaters throughout the Midwest. Dailey was most popular with audiences at Put-in-Bay and Key West, Florida. He had many songwriting credits and album releases, including collaborations with Shel Silverstein, Waylon Jennings, and others. He was a regular guest on nations radio programs, such as "Bob & Tom" and others. The local connection After touring around the country and a period of success in the club scene in Cleveland in the 1970s, when he was a main attraction at the Harry Buffalo and Bobby McGees, friends told Dailey about a popular summer resort on South Bass Island in Lake Erie: the popular tourist village known as Put-in-Bay. Although he had never heard of the place at the time, it would change his life dramatically. Dailey first played at the Beer Barrel Saloon in the summer of 1978. He shortly became the hottest act in the biggest showroom on Put-in-Bay. The Beer Barrel burned to the ground in 1988 and was rebuilt in 1989. It went into the Guinness Book of Records as The World'sLongest Bar. Now with crowd capacity at 3,500 people, Dailey was still filling the place and continued to do so until the 2007 season when he decided to move his show to a more fan-friendly venue, intimate club, The Boathouse Bar and Grill. Also in the winter of 1984, Pat began to appear at the famed old Hemingway hangout, Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West. The enormous nightly crowds of college students and tourists from the world over took to him immediately. He continued to pack the place until his retirement in 2018. The legacy left It was in the first season in Key West that Dailey met the world-famous poet, songwriter and playwright Silverstein. A Key West winter resident, Silverstein caught Pat's act, introducing himself and suggesting a songwriting collaboration that continued for 15 years until Silverstein's untimely death in 1999. The body of work resulting from Dailey's collaboration with Silverstein as well as compositions written on his own — from humorous songs, to love songs, to songs about the lakes, to outright anthems — is widely regarded by those in the music industry as stellar. Many consider Dailey as one of the most significant folk songwriters from the Great Lakes region. Even though he retired in 2018, his songs continue to be performed throughout the world by other artists — and that's due, in large part, based on the quality of his songwriting and the influence he had on others as writers and performers. Put-in-Bay and Key West singer-songwriter Ray Fogg said, "Pat influenced me to change the focus of my music and stage performance many years ago. I realized from watching Pat that there were other things to write about besides the typical love song. "And I learned from observing him that stage presence was essential if you want to get and keep people's attention in a tough business," Fogg added. "But, most importantly, you need to be an artist and offer something original to distinguish yourself uniquely from others," he said. "And, boy, did he ever do that. He will be greatly missed." Pat's longtime tour manager, Tony Bocho said, "While his family is his greatest achievement, and the musical legacy he left to Lake Erie and Key West regions goes without saying, to me, his greatest legacy will always be the friendships that occurred due to him." "We were all strangers walking into the show and came out with some of the closest friendships," Bocho added. North Coast folk legend Alex Beavan, who produced some of Dailey's albums, said," Back in the day, there was a vibrant and creative groundswell of songwriting performers who made their bones in the bars and solo act concerts of what would be known as Americana. Into this mix, an amazing talent made his mark in this region of northern Ohio. He created a template for many to follow by singing melodies carefully crafted in local lore and then delivered with the strong punch of a world-class boxer. This was Pat Dailey. He continued: "Pat Dailey not only opened up Put-in-Bay as a destination for music but also defined a kind of songwriting that wove all the best traditions of folk music with the visceral popular anthems of the times. Each performance from Key West to the shores of Lake Erie wove an inclusive tapestry that wrapped around the audience and made them feel that special love that only a master communicator can weave — every performance, every time."