Toby Keith plans special performance to honor memory of fellow musician Wayman Tisdale at the 45th annual Academy of Country Music® Awards Country Music Party of the Year™. Telecast to air live from MGM Grand in Las Vegas Sunday, April 8th at 8:00 PM Live ET/Delayed PT on CBS Television Network.April 13, 2010 – The Academy of Country Music announced today that for the second consecutive year ACM Lifting LivesTM will partner with an artist and a benefiting charity to create a special moment on at the 45th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, broadcast LIVE from MGM GRAND in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 8:00 PM LIVE ET/ DELAYED PT on the CBS Television Network.
Country music legend Toby Keith and ACM Lifting Lives will partner at the Awards for Keith’s performance of “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” with Dave Koz in support of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the charity selected this year by ACM Lifting Lives.
ACM Lifting Lives is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Last year, ACM Lifting Lives raised $100,000 for Wounded Warrior Project from downloads and direct donations as a result of Trace Adkins’ performance on the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
“Major League Baseball is proud to unite these great charities again in an important step forward in the fight against cancer,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. “The addition of this very successful event in 2009 complemented our All-Star Summer activities perfectly and made it very easy for us to bring it back in 2010 as yet another unique All-Star experience.
Keith will perform “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song),” a song he wrote in memory of his friend and fellow musician, Wayman Tisdale. A three-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma, former NBA player and accomplished jazz bassist, Tisdale passed away unexpectedly last May from complications resulting from the cancer treatments that had seemingly cured him. Keith wrote the song as a tribute to his friend, intending to play it at Tisdale’s funeral. The benefiting charity of this special show moment, SU2C, seemed like a perfect fit as the funds raised will go to cancer research.
Fans will be able to pre-order the performance on the iTunes Store today and download the audio and video of Keith’s performance following the show. All proceeds from downloads will benefit Stand Up To Cancer. SU2C’s mission is to accelerate groundbreaking cancer research – being conducted by teams of scientists from institutions across the country – that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. Viewers will also have the opportunity to donate at www.LiftingLives.org.
“Wayman was an amazing guy. In the song there’s a line that says ‘he showed us how to live and now he showed me how to die.’ Both of those were true. He didn’t frown on people for how they live, he led by example. He showed you how you’re supposed to live and he died with so much dignity,” said Keith. “I am happy to partner with ACM Lifting Lives and SU2C to donate proceeds of the performance downloads to support this important cause.”
“ACM Lifting Lives is proud to continue the tradition we began last year of raising awareness and funding for worthwhile causes through the ACM Awards. Toby Keith, Dave Koz, Show Dog Universal, iTunes, our production partner dick clark productions, and the Academy of Country Music have all shown support for Stand Up to Cancer by forgoing proceeds, and donating their time to give to cancer research. Unfortunately, most everyone has been affected by cancer in some way, and we love Stand Up to Cancer’s bold, undefeated approach,” said Erin Spahn, Director, ACM Lifting Lives .
About The Academy of Country Music Awards™
The 45th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers. Barry Adelman is producer, and Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. For more information, please visit www.acmcountry.com.
About ACM Lifting Lives™
ACM Lifting Lives™ is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Each year, ACM Lifting Lives provides grants to music therapy and music education programs. Other giving includes serving members of the country music community who face unexpected medical or financial hardship through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund and partnering with artists to improve lives through music. Last year, ACM Lifting Lives raised $100,000 for Wounded Warrior Project from downloads of Trace Adkins’ performance on the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. For more information, please visit www.LiftingLives.org.
About Stand Up To Cancer
Founded in May, 2008, the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than $100 million, and provided funding to five Dream Teams comprising over 200 exemplary scientists whose projects aim to produce results benefiting patients within the grants’ three-year term, as well as 13 young investigators whose innovative, “high risk/high reward” research would not likely receive funding from conventional sources. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is Stand Up To Cancer’s scientific partner. Major League Baseball was the lead donor to contribute to Stand Up To Cancer; among the many others are Sidney Kimmel, Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation. Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as a collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. More information on SU2C is available at www.standup2cancer.org
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Press Contact: Julie Smith, PMKBNC, 310.854.4800, julie.smith@pmkbnc.com