This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
It's a Soul Thing all across America!
God Bless America, God Bless Our Troops!
What better place could there be to celebrate our Nation's Birthday than in it's Capitol!
Hundreds of thousands were on hand to join in the celebration, while millions of viewers at home were treated to a spectacular concert on the Capital lawn and magnificent fireworks via PBS!
This is cool - click here for a panoramic view!
From The Washington Post:
Soprano Harolyn Blackwell, a D.C. native, opened the concert with "The Star-Spangled Banner," and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks electrified the crowd with a jazzed-up rendition of "This Land Is Your Land."
Earlier today Taylor Hicks, the leader of the Soul Patrol and winner of Season 5 American Idol, joined CNN Live from Washington to give us a sneak peak of his rehearsal for his Capital 4Th Concert and to talk about what an honor it was to perform for the big Birthday bash in Washington!
My thanks to my Canadian friend and partner Karin for capturing today's auspicious events on video!
Beginning with his CNN interview that took place just hours before the concert and then footage of his performances of "Soul Thing", "Dancing In The Dark" and "This Land Is Your Land" from the Capital 4Th concert.
I've invited Karin to share her thoughts as a Taylor Hicks Canadian supporter here today.
Actually I've invited her to write today's blog, to give us a little different perspective.
Taylor Hicks didn't just reach across America today, his message of freedom and democracy and his thank you to our servicemen and women travelled round the world, as did his powerful performance!
I was delighted to catch this interview live today, thanks to Karin who gave me a heads up only minutes before it aired.
Taylor's Southern charm and beautiful smile were in full force along with his sense of humor!
It was a ***** interview!
In the meantime here is a reminder of another auspicious event that occurred in Washington, Taylor Hicks' soulfully spectacular performance for the 2006 Christmas In Washington Special broadcast on TNT!
video capture: Evancol
(Thank You!)
Here we go ... Taylor Hicks Goes To Washington Part 2!!!
Man Taylor's feet were flying as fast as the fingers of Jerry Lee Lewis and I loved Jimmy Smit's comment that Taylor's performance won him American Idol all over again!
Karin ... this spot is yours, lol ... did I leave enough room!
Today was an ordinary day for me in Canada.
As many of you are aware, Canada's celebrations took place on July 1st.
During these past two years, I have come to "know" some wonderful American friends through following the journey of Taylor Hicks so I knew that everyone was very excited about today's July 4th activities.
I had to get up very early this morning.
It was a beautiful day here and for me, I am often going to bed when the birds start chirping but this morning, I heard them singing their little hearts out when I woke up.
They always start each day off with a song and I often wonder if we humans had the same attitude, our days would also begin with anticipation of the adventures and discoveries that await us as the day unfolds.
Little did I know what the day was going to bring.
I was prepared for the Capitol Fourth show but I must admit that I was taken by surprise when I learned that Taylor was going to be interviewed on CNN in the afternoon.
It has been quite a while since Taylor has been seen singing on stage in concert. Many have seen Taylor in Grease and have been sharing the good news about his success on Broadway.
One only has to read all of the Google Alerts that have been coming through lately to know that Taylor's summer "gig" on Broadway has been successful.
The anticipation has been building amongst the various fan boards during the past few weeks about his appearance on PBS' Capitol Fourth show.
I gathered my young Taylor Hicks' fans in front of the TV.
They had to make a choice - go shopping with their Mother or stay with me to watch Taylor.
Needless to say, I have successfully groomed them and they anxiously sat in front of the television to watch Taylor..
I was very surprised that we would even be able to see the performance in Canada as it unfolded so it was a wonderful treat for us.
They asked what songs Taylor was going to sing and when I told them, they knew two of the three songs.
As a matter of fact, they just sang right along with Taylor as he belted out "This Land is Your Land.
We watched Huey Lewis and you know, I did not realize that he, too, played the harmonica.
Of course, we are biased and we came to the conclusion that as great as he was, he was not Taylor playing that little beauty!
All too quickly it was over but not without a telephone call from my mother in the middle of Taylor's performance who wanted to ensure that my television set was on! Taylor exploded on stage and didn't stop until the last note was sung!
He brought huge smiles to our faces and we moved and grooved to each and every beat to his songs.
I have always admired the patriotism shown by my American neighbours.
We are patriotic in Canada too, don't get me wrong but I am often reminded of some trips south of the border where I have often seen the American flag flying freely on every second or third house on the street.
The folks in Washington got it right today.
They put together a wonderful guest list of performers who really did put on a fantastic concert.
Freedom - sometimes a word that is taken for granted but sadly, we all know that not everyone shares the liberties afforded to the citizens of the United States and Canada as well as other democratic countries.
Taylor did us proud with his performance!
He may be a "Teen Angel" for now but I couldn't help wondering what was going through his mind as he stepped onto the stage in front of so many people.
He gave a wonderful interview today on CNN and he deserves the many accolades that have come his way lately or should I say "finally".
As I have said before to Bloom, friendship knows no borders and I suppose you can say the same thing about "fanship" too.
I am now back to the beginning of my thoughts - the chirping birds which I am sure I am going to hear very soon.
I wonder when you have a song in your heart, like Taylor seems to have, if he, too, wakes up most days wondering what will come his way and change his life?
I think those birds have a huge lesson to teach us.
Don't sweat the small stuff; enjoy the moments and celebrate the good things we have in our lives!
It must be a great way to start a day!
Thanks, Bloom for the opportunity to share my ramblings.
I do appreciate "The Pond" more than you know where there are not only birds but many butterflies who have the freedom to roam where they want to.
KarinPToday's cup:
"Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions,
the spirit of men ... and so it must be
daily earned and refreshed -
else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots,
it will wither and die."
