Zola Daniels is best known as the lead singer of Sanderson Hill, along with her own prolific solo career. She has always been an individual in the music industry, not willing to conform to anyone's ideal of what the perfect singer should be. A true hippie in every sense of the word, she embodies the free-spiritedness of the sixties, and still performs as often as she can, despite her age. Zola has always been seen as someone that people want to work with, someone who embraces up and coming artists and wants to help them by using her own celebrity to elevate them.
The youngest of six children, Zola Daniels knew from a young age that she had to do something great with her life to grow out of the shadow cast by her older siblings. It wasn't that any of her siblings had accomplished anything amazing yet, but being the youngest automatically put a chip on her shoulder that she struggled from day one to grow out of, seeking the spotlight in any way that she could. It didn't help that every single one of her siblings had gone through the typical indecision that plagued young children, bouncing from activity to activity without sticking to one, and by the time it was Zola's turn, she got hand-me-downs or was simply met with a no from her parents. When she was seven, she was introduced to the acoustic guitar by a song that her brother was listening to, and she immediately fell in love with the sound of it. There was something inside of her that knew she was destined to play the guitar herself, and even as a child, she knew she had to get her hands on one. Unfortunately for her, none of her siblings had ever attempted to take up the guitar, and she was met with a firm no, something that was fair considering the fact that they had a violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and drum set laying around the house from the failed attempts of her siblings before her. However, Zola was determined and began to save her allowance, doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to earn money. Finally, after she received a small chunk of money for her eighth birthday, she had enough to buy a used guitar at a secondhand shop, and from that day forward, she would lock herself in her bedroom after school so she could teach herself how to play. It was far less instinctual than she had expected it to be, but slowly she began to learn, figuring out the chords that sounded correct, though she never knew the technical names for anything that she was doing. The music program at her school being almost non-existent, Zola felt very alone in her guitar playing and her love for music, but she continued with it, even though no one else she knew played anything other than piano or instruments in the school band.
When it came time for Zola to go to college, her first instinct was to go into music, but her parents had other ideas for her. Money was more important than a passion for something, or at least that was what they believed, and instead of allowing her to major in music performance at the University of Michigan, she went into business, just like all five of her siblings had. Two of them genuinely thrived while attending their business classes, while the other three floundered and found themselves in jobs they hated simply to make money, a future that set fear into Zola's heart. No, she wanted to be the first person in the family to break through the mold their parents had set for them and be herself, a concept she had been aware of from the first time she had ever heard the acoustic guitar playing. Though she majored in business to appease her parents, they allowed her to take music classes, where she finally got her first lessons in what she had been teaching herself for years. Her professors were impressed by her talent, not only at playing the guitar, but at songwriting, and they began to give her extra lessons outside of class time, wanting her to meet the potential they saw in her. During Zola's second semester, her life was turned upside down by the arrival of a student teacher named Nick Cameron. Not only did he see Zola's musical talent, he saw her beauty, a sentiment that Zola also returned even though she knew that the relationship was technically taboo. She began staying after class, playing her newest compositions for Nick, even writing songs with him when she found out that he also possessed similar songwriting skills to hers. Forgetting about any sort of rules, the two began spending all their free time together, writing songs and planning to start a group together, a dream she had always had but never allowed herself to truly think of. The two also fell in love, a fact that they kept hidden from everyone else at the school.
Much to her parents' dismay, Zola dropped out of college after her first year, and unsurprisingly, Nick gave up his dreams of being a music teacher to travel around with her. Like a cliche, the two lived out of the back of his van, recording low quality copies of their songs as they traveled, playing gigs at dive bars whenever they got the chance to. While the two had a large amount of talent together, Zola knew deep down that they were missing something, that they were never going to make it big without that spark. That spark came along when they played at a bar in Chicago, meeting two men named Jim Sanderson and Daniel Hill after the show who were very interested in their sound, and thought that the two would make the current sound they had together that much richer. Going back to their apartment, as the four of them had a jam session together, Zola knew instantly that their lives were all about to change. Her raspy voice fit perfectly with the sound that the two were striving for, and the songs she and Nick had written together were complete with the addition of Jim and Daniel. Sanderson Hill was born in a small apartment in Chicago that night, and it gave her chills to think that this could be the moment they had all been waiting for. The first gig they had as a group was at a bar, just like Zola had been used to playing in, but people paid more attention this time and she knew they had hit the jackpot. The next show they did, she was both shocked and not surprised at all at how large the crowd was. It was only after they had done three shows together that a record producer approached them about being signed to his label, which they immediately agreed to.
Though the band was having great success, the personal relationship between Zola and Nick was incredibly rocky, largely due to the fame they were gaining. Nick had a wandering eye, something that Zola loathed, and their fights were explosive when they came to a head. Though their relationship had begun out of passion, she knew that that same passion was too volatile for them to have any sort of lasting relationship. However, she changed her tune to the sight of a positive pregnancy test, one that filled her with both elation and dread. Having children had been a dream of Zola's, but she certainly never wanted to raise a child in the drug and alcohol soaked world of rock and roll, not to mention wanting to give a child a stable life rather than dragging them on tour. Despite Nick's pleas that she have the baby "taken care of" -- or perhaps it was to spite him -- Zola followed through with the pregnancy, continuing to tour even when it became harder to be on stage in her third trimester. As much as she wanted to take some time off after the baby was born, Sanderson Hill was at the height of their popularity, and she knew that if she were to take a break now, that would be the end of her career. It wasn't what she had wanted, but Zola made the situation work, and having a child together mended some of the hard feelings between herself and Nick. It was as though his paternal side made some of the bad things go away, and she remembered again why they had fallen in love.
While Zola loved Sanderson Hill, there were some things that they didn't all see eye to eye on, and despite Nick warning her that it was a bad idea, she began to record solo albums. It was during her solo career that her legacy began to grow -- Zola Daniels, badass rocker chick who could control a stage simply by stepping onto it, all while raising a family on her own. She became somewhat of an icon to women, something that both baffled her and gave her a great sense of pride. After all, this was what she had spent her whole life trying to do -- make a name for herself, to inspire people. Ten years of juggling the two, while also trying to raise her three children, Zola knew what she had to do. The band was fighting more than they were turning out quality music, and she knew for a fact that Nick's wandering eye had led him astray more than once, the paternal quality he had falling to the wayside once the children started to get older and more demanding. (He wasn't the only one to blame -- she had more than her fair share of one night stands as well, with both men and women alike.) Though she knew it might damage her career, Zola left Sanderson Hill, deciding to raise her children at home as a single mother, taking a break from the spotlight. However, it was harder on her than she had imagined, and as much as she loved her children, the desire to perform was too great to ignore. She continued her solo career, which was met with great success, and she was relieved that her fears about leaving the band were unfounded.
Despite being older, Zola's career continues to flourish, still doing the occasional tour now that her children are grown and out of the house. She never has any shortage of inspiration for songs, something that has always come easily to her, especially after the myriad of relationships she's been in over the years. Though she feels she is far too old for the dating scene, she has a secret desire that someone will come along and sweep her off her feet, something she would never admit to anyone even if she were held at gunpoint. No, she has a reputation to protect -- if anyone knew that all Zola Daniels wanted was to love and be loved in return, how would they ever take her seriously onstage again?
