The George
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Sunday, September 30, 2012
...He Lifts Me Up...God Cares...
September 30, 2012
It is hard to believe another year has crept up on me! I had every intention of keeping up with my blog at least once a month...oh well, such is life!
Two years ago this morning, I was waking up from a troubled, sleepless night. I had just had a heart attack on the 29th evening, never realizing how serious it could have been. I take such matters in stride and had my Blackberry going all the way through the time they took me into the cardiac lab. A 99% blocked LAD was cleared out with a stent and I was back in my room an hour later, enjoying a sandwich and had my Blackberry fired up again!
The morning of the 30th rolled by and I woke up with the firm conviction I had been granted another chance at life. My mind drifted back to another point in time; early 2006. My friend, the legendary blues player Roy Roberts, had stopped by my office that Tuesday morning in February. We had been working on the release of a gospel album and he brought me the pre-production CD so I could listen to it while I was on a dialysis machine later that day.
A few hours later once I had settled in for my 4 hour cleansing session, I turned on my laptop, inserted the CD and plugged in the headphones. The first cut on the CD will be the song I will always remember. Over the next eighteen months, this CD would be my strength and companion to drive myself home. No matter how tough or long the the days were, no matter how bad I felt after those sessions, I knew I could make it home as soon as I turned on CD number 6, track 1, that still resides in the six pack CD player in my car.
I received the gift of a transplant in August 2007. The post recovery and the challenges of the last five years have made me return to this song every day.
I have been working on producing a suitable video to accompany the song and I was in the process of wrapping up the production tonight to celebrate my two year surviving-a-heart-attack anniversary.
As it turns out, there is another reason why it took me until 6:00 am to complete this piece. As usual, the Almighty is always on time....
Please enjoy the heartfelt music of my dear friend Roy Roberts.
And I am grateful to be be alive...
George
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Tony Drake Story
Several years ago my good friend, legendary Blues man Roy Roberts, sent me a CD featuring the music of a young man in Tennesee. In August 2011 we were able to help Tony and his family move to Winston-Salem so he could work on his next CD with Rockhouse Records. My company is helping with the PR and serves as the media contact. All of our services for The Tony Drake Story project are provided at no charge; listening to his music and his story changes something inside you forever.
His website: http://www.tonydrakestory.com/ Facebook: Facebook Link
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Our Special City
All Images © GHPC INC
In the summer of 1996 I worked on a project for the Atlanta Olympics. I believe I was able to capture the essence of Winston-Salem in the photograph. I modified the original image in December 1999 with the addition of the Moravian Star from Bethania Moravian Church.
.... And I still believe Winston-Salem is ...my kind of world...
Friday, January 6, 2012
My Friend, Blues Legend - Roy Roberts
It was one was of those chance encounters in 1995 that led to my meeting with Roy Roberts. Over the years we became good friends and stayed in touch while collaborating on musical projects. We have several releases coming up this year including his Gospel Album.
...Let The Music Play...
Roy Roberts became hooked on music while growing up in a small town in Tennessee, listening to blues and R&B on radio stations WLAC out of Nashville. Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me to Do” was the clincher and at the age of 14, Roy worked on a nearby farm to earn the money for his first guitar, a mail order Sears Silvertone.
When he turned 18, he moved to Greensboro, North Carolina to live with an uncle. There he had another inspiration to become a professional musician, when he and a carload of friends happened upon a nightclub where Jerry Butler was performing and making quite an impression on the ladies. Roy sharpened his skills while playing in makeshift bands until he landed a job with local hero Guitar Kimbers’ Untouchables. Before long, Roy was backing up major artists who came through town. One of those artists, Solomon Burke, took young Roy under his wing after letting him sit in as a bass player during a local gig. He was soon handling the guitar chores behind the future soul legend on tour. Roberts subsequently picked up touring gigs with such luminaries as Eddie Floyd, “Little” Stevie Wonder, Dee Clark, and Otis Redding, while fronting his own band, The Roy Roberts Experience, on the regional club scene and Southeastern beach town circuit.
Roy began to cut records in the mid-sixties, staying mostly behind the scenes as a session man. The tragic death of Otis Redding inspired him to step up to the microphone with a song dedicated to the late crooner. The record was released on Nina Simone’s NinaAndy label and backed by an ace studio band. Roy followed this successful effort with a string of 45’s that carried him well into the seventies. During the disco years, Roy turned his talents to country music, touring with the great O.B. McClinton and releasing a number of country records. After a brief hiatus from the music scene, Roy built a recording studio in Virginia in 1989, where he produced records by regional gospel artists and cut a gospel record of his own.
One day in the early nineties, he heard a young Robert Cray singing the blues on the radio. “That cat’s got my style,” he declared, and got the blues fever once again. Besides recording his own material on Rock House, Roberts has produced albums for the label by Priscilla Price, Lou Pride, Chick Willis, Skeeter Brandon, Floyd Miles, Eddie Floyd, and many more. Roy continues to record and produce records for his label, and tours the U.S. and Europe regularly. After receiving numerous awards, Roy has earned his place among the finest artists playing blues today.
http://royrobertsblues.com/
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Snow In Sri Lanka!
Nuwara Eliya really looked like a little England yesterday. The Meteorological Department said the temperature of some places in Nuwara Eliya froze to five degrees Celsius during the last few days.
A very unusual event for the tropical island country - Enjoy the snow/frost while you can!
A very unusual event for the tropical island country - Enjoy the snow/frost while you can!
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