Albany Herald:
July 03–ALBANY — Although he never served, Albany entrepreneur Bo Henry holds a special place in his heart for military veterans and the sacrifices they make in the name of freedom, which inspired the musician to write a song in their honor.
“I’ve never been in the military, but I have the utmost respect for anybody who is and I know that they’re the reason that America is free and stays free,” said Henry. “It’s them and the many, many before. I still believe in America, and I’m thankful every day for the freedom we have.”
It was thoughts about those who serve and the fact that they give their lives to protect the country that inspired Henry to write “Hero,” a new song he recently recorded and released.
The musician said he woke up early on Memorial Day this year and, as is often the case when his family is still asleep, he ventured out to his music room and started playing the piano. What came from that session is a song the singer/songwriter said he is very proud of.
“I was just thinking about America and just had a little patriotic moment,” said Henry. “I started playing the piano, and it just came right to me. I wrote it right then; it was about 7:30, 8 o’clock in the morning on Memorial Day.”
Henry sat on the song for a bit, intending to record it with his band, the Bo Henry Band. But as Independence Day neared, he decided he needed to get the song recorded and release in time for the holiday.
Just last week, Henry decamped to Ed McCree’s Albany Music Studio and began recording the tune with just his acoustic guitar, before fully fleshing out the tune with additional instruments.
“I was originally just going to play acoustic and sing it, but when I finished playing it acoustic, I put bass with it, then I put a piano with it, then I played drums and just kept going from one instrument to the next,” he said. “Then I got my youngest sister, Kristin Culpepper, to go out with me the next night, and she sang harmony and back-up on it with me.”
Henry immediately released the song, which is currently available at cdbaby.com and will soon be available on iTunes and other digital music sites.
Even though the version that’s out now is a solo effort, Henry said he does intend to revisit the tune and record it with the entire Bo Henry Band.
“This time I was on a little time crunch and wanted to get it done before the Fourth of July, so I just recorded everything,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll go back and eventually do it with the band. I do play other instruments but not as well as the guys in my band play.”
In addition to penning the song as a tribute to military veterans, Henry said he plans to donate some of the proceeds from the sale of the single, although he admits he isn’t sure how much the song might make.
“I’m going to give 10 percent of the gross to nonprofit military organizations that help wounded or fallen veterans or their families,” Henry said. “I haven’t decided which one it will be yet, and it might not be just one. I’m not expecting it to be some huge amount, but I do my part. There’s tons of good organizations out there, and I would probably try to help them all a little bit if it brings in anything.”
For those who have not yet heard the tune, “Hero” focuses on a fictional character born into a family with a military history. The main character never knew his father, who had gone off to war and lost his life before he was born. The son eventually turns 18 and joins the military as well, and ultimately loses his life in combat.
The son’s mother, when told the news of his death, isn’t angry but feels a sense of peace because she knows her son did what he felt he should do and is finally reunited with his hero, his father.
“It’s not a true story, but it is something that could happen,” said Henry. “We’re so lucky to have people that go and fight for us. I’m sitting here in a restaurant working while somebody overseas is protecting us so that me and my wife and my son can be living in a free country.”
Henry will perform “Hero” in front a large crowd for the first time today when he joins other local acts Mopeland and Unbreakable Bloodline, along with blues and R&B legend Clarence Carter, at the city of Albany’sFourth of July concert at Veterans Park Amphitheatre in advance of the city’s downtown fireworks display.
Henry said that, in addition to revisiting the track with the rest of the Bo Henry Band, the group is currently working on material for a new CD it hopes to release in the near future.
“We’re working on songs to put out on a new CD soon,” he said. “We’ve got the material, we just have to get it recorded.”
