About Wayne Warner
Wayne Warner..s new album is a country music triumph, and maybe that..s because he..s remained true to his direction, values, work ethic and focus to make music that matters.
An adoptive father of two boys and one foster son, Wayne Warner wrote ..God Bless The Children.. and decided to use the song to encourage potential families to adopt from foster care. ..This album and DVD project is one that I..m more passionate about than anything I..ve done in my career to date,.. shares Warner. ..It is one that merges my love for music, for children, for camaraderie and for making a difference...
Getting to this point in his career has certainly been an interesting journey. His music career began at a very young age in rural Vermont. Wayne Warner was immersed in the traditional country music of his father..s successful family band, known simply as the ..Warner Band... At the age of six, he became an official member of the band. Then in 1972 the Warner family realized a lifetime dream by building Warner's Dance Hall, the largest dance club in the state of Vermont seating 500 people. Wayne loved performing in the band, packing the Dance Hall each weekend.
His dreams also included making a record, and at the age of 15 he made his first recording at a local studio. The tape made its way into the hands of a Plattsburg, NY disc jockey who called and asked permission to forward the tape to a record producer in Nashville. A few short weeks later, Wayne found himself in Nashville..s famous Hilltop Studios surrounded by musicians he heard on the radio every day on records by his heroes.
The album was completed and the first single released on an independent label. Wayne heard himself on the radio for the first time on his 16th birthday. His career grew quickly and Wayne got a quick taste of the demands of the business of the record industry. He readily admits that he was not prepared for the demands and pressures of the business. ..At sixteen years old, I wasn't mature enough or artistically prepared for it, so I opted out of the business so that I could lead a somewhat normal lifestyle," he shares. A short time later Wayne took over management of the Dance Hall, a job that gave him invaluable business experience.
Wayne..s face lights up when he talks about one of his most life changing decisions during that time. He and wife Sandy made the decision to adopt their three boys. ..Adoption is something I had always wanted to do, there are just so many children out there looking for a home. I was fortunate to grow up with such a strong sense of family and everyone should have that feeling...
With his business and family life on track, he realized it was time to grow up and to get his music career back on track as well. His sister, business partner, and sometimes collaborator, Juanita, witnessed the changes and began to prod Wayne to get back to making his music professionally. With the support of his entire family, Wayne searched for a team of Nashville producers and musicians that could help him capture the sound that he had now spent years honing on the Dance Hall stage and in his Vermont studio.
Wayne took his unique vocal resonance into the studio for the first time with producer/guitarist Troy Lancaster and the project attracted the attention and interest of Harold Shedd. The legendary producer and former head of Mercury/Nashville Records who had helped unveil the talents of Alabama, Shania Twain, K.T. Oslin and Billy Ray Cyrus was given a copy of the project by a friend. Shedd put the CD in his player as he drove home from his office and immediately picked up his cell to track down the artist. Harold Shedd quickly became a member of the team as well as one of the driving forces behind it.
That first album was completed late in 2000. Warner, Shedd and Lancaster played the finished project for the president of Atlantic/Nashville, Barry Coburn. Coburn was thrilled with what he heard and decided to make Wayne his first new artist since taking the helm of the label. Unfortunately, just a few weeks before the release of the first Wayne Warner single, Atlantic's parent company was going through a corporate belt tightening and the Atlantic/Nashville office was closed.
Wayne took matters into his own hands and created B-Venturous Records where his long awaited self-titled album was released in the winter of 2002, and the music industry sat up and took notice. Journalists proclaimed the album a hit proclaiming that, ..if Buddy Holly made country records in this new century, they would probably sound like the music created by Wayne Warner...
When it became time to begin work on his next album Wayne once again turned to producer/guitarist Troy Lancaster and long-time supporter Harold Shedd to co-produce the project with him.
Continuing his journey to create music that matters, Warner embraces the cause of foster care adoption personally and professionally, and features the song ..God Bless The Children,.. (written by Warner) as the lead single on the re-release of Warner..s most recent album Doing Something Right, newly entitled TURBO TWANG..N. Warner..s B-Venturous album showcases a truly polished song craftsman and singer with vocals that resonate with emotional honesty. He..s a proven entertainer and a dynamic personality. The album consists of 13 songs, all written or co-written by Warner. In addition to the featured single, ..God Bless The Children,.. there is a special dance mix of ..Things You Make My Heart Say.. on the album plus the 2-disc album package contains a bonus DVD of the music video with special behind-the-scenes footage.
In February 2006, Wayne and a multitude of country recording artists sang ..God Bless The Children.. and created a video which is being used to emphasize the need to find families the more than 119,000 children that are available for adoption in the U.S. foster care system.
Working with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Wayne Warner recruited famed director John Lloyd Miller (who himself is a father of adopted children) and gathered a group of friends including Deborah Allen, Kevin Sharp, Richard Young from the Kentucky Headhunters, Jimmy Fortune, Jett Williams, Billy Yates, the Jordanaires and rising stars Taylor Swift and Jamie Lee Thurston to create the video and record the song.
..I am fortunate to be surrounded by such a talented group of dedicated musicians on this project,.. said Wayne Warner. ..It is an honor to be able to harness the power of music to raise awareness of the need to find adoptive families for the thousands of children languishing in the foster care system in the U.S...
All proceeds from the song ..God Bless The Children.. will support the efforts of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a public charity. Additionally, Warner will relinquish all rights to royalties from the song and donate the funds directly to the Foundation.
..I..ve always said that my love for music was founded in its ability to say things that words alone, would struggle to do. I knew I was on track with this project. Working on this album and video project has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I hope people enjoy the music and the message. It..s true I suppose that almost any man can become a ..father... I sure love being a ..dad... May God Bless You, and ..God Bless The Children...
