While watching coverage of Hurricane Katrina, Chapin White, 13, went to his room scrounging for change and gave his dad the $14 in his wallet to send to the victims.
Feeling intensely proud and moved by his son’s actions, Chuck White sat down and the song ‘Rise Up,? flowed from his pen.
‘As a parent, it was one of the proudest moments of your life, to think that at age 13 your kid is sensitive enough to want to give,? said Chuck White, of Independence Township.
‘Rise Up? is a country ballad that responds to all the negativity and blame that ensued after the hurricane, which White hopes will become a lasting fund-raiser to help the victims.
‘I was watching the horrible flood with people on roofs and the water rising up and you question what good could come out of this,? said White.
White first performed the song at the Community Bible Church in Waterford accompanied by pictures of the devastation. During that performance, goods were collected and sent down to a church in Shreveport, Louisiana.
‘I had such a strong response to the message of the song, that I sent it to my friend in Nashville, Morgan Cryar, whose had many hits on Christian radio? He took the original song and did some great word tweaks and subtle composition changes. Then he had professional musicians come in like they do in a studio and cut it,? said White.
As of last week, ‘Rise Up? was at the top of Yahoo searches said White. He said the song shows up in searches first, before efforts put on by famed recording artist Michael Jackson.
In hopes of turning the song into a successful fund-raiser, White bought a URL for the song, hired a host company to keep it relevant on web searches and hired a promotion company to create a press release about his efforts.
‘This is a very low-budget, grass roots effort. You can’t throw money at it to make it good. This morning it had 1,790 hits. I just checked again, now is has 1,940 and it just hit the search engine this morning,? said White.
This is also not the first time White has written a song as the country faced tragedy. He also composed ‘Heroes of September? shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11.
‘They’re very similar. Both are tragic, but songs of hope. ‘Heroes of September? pays tribute to the first responders who were heroes and people like Todd Beamer? That’s what inspired the song,? said White.
‘I still get calls from politicians and preachers who do memorial services for 9/11 every year,? he added.
The overwhelming response received by his first song made White curious about what could be done on-line with a song about Katrina.
‘I was thinking about the ‘Heroes of September? Web site and how it’s made it around the world on its own by people linking it.? The ultimate goal for me would be to have someone with a name who’s a prominent artist, like Kid Rock, cut the song with all the proceeds going to the American Red Cross,? said White. ‘I-tunes is my other goal, because all of America could spend 99 cents to download the song.?
White filled out the paperwork already for I-tunes and hopes to hear back soon if the song was chosen. He thinks with all the attention the song has received on-line, the chances may be better the song is accepted and will become available.
‘That way maybe we could generate hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars eventually, because the song would be around every anniversary. Most people feel overwhelmed and have already done something big for the victims, but don’t know what to do next,? said White.
‘A lady called crying from England regarding the Katrina song. It is amazing what you can do over the internet without being signed with a big label, when it’s not about money, but changing hearts and touching people,? he added.
White began playing the guitar in the fourth grade, drawing inspiration from music icons like Johnny Cash, Neil Young, George Jones and others.
‘In my mid to late twenties, I started trying to write songs because I realized it was therapy and a great way to deal with what was on your mind,? explained White.
In his thirties, he met Morgan Cryar in Nashville at a song writing seminar and has been writing songs as a hobby since having two CD’s produced in Nashville. They are dominated by personal songs dedicated to many of his family members.
Chuck and his wife of 21 years, Nikki, live in Independence Township. Their daughter Kati, 18, attends Western Michigan University. Chapin, 13, attends Clarkston Middle School.
For more information on either of the songs, call Chuck White at 248-931-2828 or visit the following Web sites: http://www.katrinasong.com or http://www.heroesofseptember.com.
Currently, ‘Rise Up? is performed on-line by Morgan Cryar.