Ladysmith Coronavirus Song and Video
On Thursday, May 21st, 2020, MyLadysmith.com, a community-based arts, entertainment, and information website for the Ladysmith (Vancouver Island) area, released a music video to honor local essential workers and boost morale during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The YouTube video features Sheila Richards, a 77-year-old Ladysmith resident, who came up with the song idea to keep busy and lift spirits during these social distancing times.
The story behind the video
This started as an amusing family project. Confined at home during the pandemic, Sheila wrote new lyrics to the tune of “You Are my Sunshine”. “I thought, I’ll sit down and write a song about Ladysmith”, says Richards. “It’s a great place to live, and the first responders are really good. I want to show how much we appreciate them”.
She recorded herself singing on her mobile phone and sent it via WhatsApp to her musician son Dean. “I sent it for a bit of a laugh to him”, says Richards with a chuckle; “You know… I have a voice only a mother would love, but I enjoy singing”.
Dean, who is also a videographer and CEO of MyLadysmith.com, suggested to produce a fun music video, and enlisted his long time friend Daniel J.K. Ross, an award-winning music composer for TV and movies, for the instrumentation track, with “Dad” John Richards playing snare drum. He then went out in the community with his camera, asking town folks to give a cheer for their local service providers, filming business employees and workers of the Ladysmith community, houses, and fences decorated with hearts and thank-you notes. Watch the YouTube video here.
You can see the full story at www.ladysmithchronicle.com
