Johnny Oliver Band
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | SELF
Music
Press
The best songs come from a wellspring of suffering, says John Oliver.
"It seems to be the more hurt and tragedy in a song, the more it tugs at people," said Oliver.
"The Reason" - written by Oliver and his wife Joan - captures the plight of an eight-year-old boy, forced to beg patrons at a Halifax bar in November, 1964 for money to feed his young mother and baby sister.
The child's desperate efforts were witnessed by two men, both in the television industry, who, with others at the bar, dug into their pockets to raise the then princely sum of $15.
But Jim Hill Sr. and the late Jack Dalton decided to do more.
The Christmas Daddies telethon came out of that incident.
So did "The Reason" a little more than 40 years later.
The song was written in November, 2006, but has been kept largely under wraps till now.
"It was finished too late for Christmas Daddies last year, so we laid it to rest for 10 months," said Oliver.
Christmas Daddies has gone on to raise $24 million to date. But the Pope Road
couple has kept the starving little boy and his family at
the song's core.
When a tape was played for Christmas Daddies organizers in Moncton recently, there were few dry eyes, said Oliver.
Oliver will be traveling to Moncton Sunday to perform his tune for the annual telethon.
"I'm a little bit nervous, it's a little bit bigger stage than I'm used to. But I think I'll be alright."
The song's most recent performance came less than a week ago at a Christmas
Daddies fundraiser in New London. Oliver was accompanied by his two daughters, Dallas, 13 and Dakota, 12, who share his musical gifts.
John and Dakota also participated in the Prince County Has Talent Show Thursday, in separate categories.
"It's a real exciting time for us," said Oliver, 42.
All told, he has written more than 80 tunes.
"The lyrics came together really fast, in about an hour," said Oliver, adding the musical arrangements took a little longer.
"The Reason" was written at the request of Christmas Daddies volunteer Darlene MacWilliams.
When he played the tune at a fundraiser last Christmas in P.E.I., "we had people crying in the front rows," said Oliver.
"They were pretty taken by it."
- http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=84012&sc=118
The Christmas Gathering at the Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre in Summerside will once again bring people together for a concert of seasonal music
The Guardian
For some P.E.I. musicians, inspiring the Christmas spirit in others can be as simple as sharing a new song.
That’s the experience of Joan and John Oliver of Summerside.
They wrote The Reason, a song about the predicament of an eight-year-old boy forced to beg for money at a Halifax bar in 1964 to feed his mother and baby sister.
That’s because whenever or wherever they play the song, which tells how the starving boy’s attempt to look after his family is observed by two men who take up a collection from bar patrons and present it to him, it catches on like wildfire.
“When we performed it live at the Christmas Daddies telethon last weekend, the reaction was phenomenal. The staff and volunteers left their workstations and we had 50 people standing around us. Everyone was crying,” says John Oliver of the Johnny D’s.
The band, which also features his daughters, Dallas, 13, and Dakota, 12, will perform the song during The Christmas Gathering in Summerside. The fourth annual event takes place at the Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m.
“We’re creating a traditional Christmas celebration with the hopes of drawing the community together once again,” says theatre general manager Maurice Gallant.
- http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=87068&sc=100
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Johnny Oliver singer/songwriter/performer from Summerside P.E.I. has over 20 years experience in the Music Industry, Johnny has just released his third album " She's Gonnna Love Me " in August. Johnny has composed over 170 original songs to date. In the past four years, Johnny released three albums, comprised of all his original songs. Johnny has received seven P.E.I. Music Nominations in the past seven years including Male Vocalist and Country recording of the year.
In 2008 Johnny recorded his long overdue first album titled The Reason which was named after a song on the CD about how the Halifax Christmas Daddies came to be.
In 2009 Johnnys second album Im Not Up For Sale was released, and this lead right into Johnnys first appearance at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival, where Johnny appeared on the same bill, with Tim McGraw, Reba McIntyre, Big and Rich, and Aaron Lines. Johnny has received radio airplay for both albums across the Maritime Country stations and is looking forward to getting his third album on the airwaves.
Johnny is now sporting a four piece Country/Rock Band, self titled the Johnny Oliver Band.
Travis Tritt, Bob Seger, Hank Williams Jr., and John Mellencamp have influenced Johnnys music. His shows consist of some hard-core honky-tonk tunes to some smooth feeling Country ballads. Johnnys performance will sure to please, when he lights the stage up with some hard driving country-rock classic covers, such as Matt Minglewoods The Drinker and Stevie Ray Vaughns The House is Rockin. With this diversity, the audience is never bored.
With a new album on the horizon you will be able to catch Johnny and his new band this summer promoting his new album.
Band Members
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