Daryl Simmons (born April 11, 1957) is a Grammy-winning songwriter/producer most known for collaborating with L.A. Reid and Babyface. Simmons grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana where he was a high school classmate and bandmate of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. Babyface would go on to Los Angeles to join The Deele in the 1980s and Simmons would later follow, helping write songs for two of their albums. L.A. and Face would leave the group to start their own production company and record label, LaFace, with Simmons playing a “silent partner” type of role.
Simmons had a hand in creating hits for many artists such as Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, Pebbles, Karyn White, Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown, Tevin Campbell, Aaliyah and many more. Most notably, Simmons, L.A. and Face wrote and produced “End of the Road” for Boyz II Men, which won a Grammy award in 1992 for Best R&B Song after topping the pop chart for a record 13 straight weeks. Simmons would later branch out on his own as he established Silent Partner Productions and he created Top 10 R&B hits for artists such as Monica (“Why I Love You So Much”) and Dru Hill (“In My Bed” and “Never Make a Promise”). He has also worked with a variety of high-profile artists such as Destiny’s Child, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie, and Elton John among others.
