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March
22, 2007
Canadian
country star serving the Air Force in his own special way
George Canyon pictured as a Canadian Forces soldier in his
video, “I Want You To Live” CREDIT: www.georgecanyon.com
“I Want You To Live” video touching fans
By
Holly Bridges
Like
so many young Canadians with a dream of joining the Air Force,
Canadian country singer George Canyon did all the right things
in his hometown of Stellarton, Nova Scotia.
He
joined the air cadets, brushed up on his high school math
and science and entered university with a passion for airplanes
that simply would not go away. "My whole life as a kid
was about joining the Air Force," Mr. Canyon said from
his home in Alberta this week.
Unfortunately,
for medical reasons, he was unable to join the Air Force.
It was around that time that he began to pursue his other
passion - music. Now, almost 20 years later, Mr. Canyon is
a rising star on the North American country music scene. He
just cleaned up at the East Coast Music Awards capturing three
awards, including Entertainer of the Year. His latest album
Somebody Wrote Love is nominated for a Juno Award for Country
Recording of the Year.
"I am very grateful to the good Lord for the gifts he
has given me," said Mr. Canyon. "It's all come together
the way it should. But the military is still something I hold
very dear in my heart."
And
dear to his heart it is, especially now that his latest single,
"I Want You To Live" is climbing the charts and
captivating the hearts and minds of everyone who sees the
video, shot at 8 Wing Trenton this past January.
"The
response has been unbelievable," says Mr. Canyon. "My
manager, who also manages Garth Brooks from Nashville, recently
played the video for some big executives in New York City
who sat there and cried their eyes out. It's the kind of video
that goes beyond music. It touches a chord with people."
Written
by Robin Welty and Michael Dulaney, and based on the true
story of a man who says goodbye to his family and is then
killed by a drunk driver on his way to work, the song has
a gut-wrenching, mournful sound, yet Mr. Canyon envisioned
another scenario when he first heard the lyrics.
Adapted
by director Warren Sonoda, the video instead tells the story
of a soldier leaving his family for a deployment and then
dying in battle. The entire video was shot in location at
8 Wing Trenton using military personnel to play the part of
soldiers fighting in an unnamed foreign country. There are
also real clips of Canadian Forces personnel at the beginning
of the video and a dedication at the end.
Watch
“I Want You To Live”
Canadian
country singer George Canyon chose to sing the vocals for
his new video, “I Want You To Live” in front of
CC-130 Hercules # 328 at 8 Wing Trenton because of his love
for the Air Force.
"Being in the military is a very dangerous job and a
lot of Canadians don't realize that," says Mr. Canyon.
"We have men and women fighting for freedom all over
the world. It's heartbreaking when they don't come home."
Mr.
Canyon says he's getting e-mails from fans across North America
congratulating him on the video and thanking him for drawing
attention to the sacrifices being made by military personnel
around the world. He was perhaps most touched, though, by
the e-mail he received from a Canadian Forces soldier in Afghanistan.
"This
fellow lost his best friend a few months ago, and wrote to
thank me personally for opening the eyes of Canadians. He
said, ‘We're not playing here. This isn't a game. This
is real people showing dedication and courage.' I thought
‘Wow he's thanking me'. I thought that was really touching."
Mr.
Canyon says everyone who watches "I Want You To Live"
is moved by its storyline and says he is thrilled it's having
such an emotional impact on people.
Something
that had an emotional affect on him during the shooting of
the video was having the chance to perform the vocals for
the video in front of a CC-130 Hercules right on the 8 Wing
Trenton flightline. And the first shot of him as a soldier
in uniform comes right after the sight of a CC-130 Hercules
flies overhead.
"That
was my director's idea because he knows how much I love the
Air Force," says Mr. Canyon. "It was a real thrill."
So
what's next for this unofficial Air Force ambassador? Mr.
Canyon is hoping to return to Afghanistan soon to perform
for the troops and is working on a few other feel-good projects
for the Canadian Forces.
"With
success comes responsibility," says Mr. Canyon. "I
want to shed some light to the situation facing our military.
Our men and women are all over the world and doing an amazing
job."
http://www.junoawards.ca/
http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/newsroom/news_e.asp?cat=114&id=2812
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