Fredericton musicians band together in support of ‘George’s Accessible Van Plan’.
It’s been a year since Fredericton musician Tim Walker first performed his song, Mama’s Never Wrong (George’s Song), as part of Songs of the City 2016, a collaborative concert tour organized by The United Way of Central New Brunswick and Shivering Songs. The event paired New Brunswick songwriters with individuals whose lives have been changed through support they received from The United Way. By sharing these inspiring stories through music and song, Songs of The City has helped expose audiences to the wide range of support the organization provides people in our communities.
For his song, Walker worked with George Woodworth, a man who became quadriplegic after suffering a fall in 2007.
“Meeting George, having the opportunity to share his story through song and performing with him has been an incredibly moving experience for me,” said Walker. “His positive attitude and upbeat demeanor in the face of extreme adversity is beyond admirable and inspirational.”
In August of this year, Woodworth launched a crowd-funding campaign to support the purchase of an accessible van. Once Walker heard about the campaign, he reached out to his friends and family in The Olympic Symphonium in hopes that they could all get together to record the song.
“George has a Go Fund Me campaign happening to help him raise money to buy a van, so I thought why not record the tune and see if we could get some kind of action happening on the musical end of things to try and help him out,” said Walker. “We might only raise $20 but we just want to help support his efforts and hopefully get people to hear the song and learn more about his story.”
Fredericton recording engineers Brad Perry and Evan Hansen recorded, mixed and mastered Mama’s Never Wrong (George’s Song), at The Recordery, donating all their time and services to the project.
“We knew that Songs of the City was going to be an effective means of thanking the community that supports United Way year-in, year-out as we strive to help people throughout Central NB,” said Jeff Richardson, executive director of The United Way of Central New Brunswick. “And I’m thrilled to see how the event has inspired community members to go above and beyond like they have. Seeing Tim, the Olympic Symphonium, and Brad and Evan from The Recordery rally to help George like this is inspiring, and it’s exactly the kind of thing we want to celebrate with Songs of the City. We have a pretty incredible community here.”
To better understand the song’s lyrics and Walker’s approach to telling the story, listen to Woodworth explaining his own story in his own words through the link below. The track was taken from a complete concert recording of the 2016 Moncton performance posted online.
Show Your Support:
Digital copies of the song are available for purchase HERE and all proceeds go directly to support George Woodworth’s Go Fund Me campaign.
To support George Woodworth’s campaign directly, visit www.gofundme.com/georges-van-plan
