Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
MUSIC WITH A MISSION
Marc Broussard is a singer, songwriter, performer and humanitarian.
For him, music has always been part of a mission to help others, one reason that his 2019 album ” A Lullaby Collection” and book, “I Love You For You,” were created.
The album, the third in Broussard’s independently released “Save Our Soul” series, finds him reimagining a series of standard lullabies: “Danny Boy,” “Sweet Baby James” and “Moon River,” among others. The 11-song album also includes two Broussard originals: “Bedtime” and “Gavin’s Song.”
While the songs might be geared to younger listeners, Broussard’s soulful sound and a sweeping orchestration offer universal appeal to all ages.
“I wanted this to be a recognizable covers album,” Broussard said.
“’Danny Boy’ and ‘Moon River’ were songs I could never imagine recording. But when I did my research and heard the various versions of these songs, especially the Andy Williams renditions, I was so taken. I was never a big Andy Williams fan, but all of a sudden, I found his voice so spectacular. There is grace attached to every one of his performances that I wanted to emulate throughout this entire record. No other artist had done this to me.”
Broussard donated all proceeds from sales of his 2005 CD “Bootleg to Benefit the Victims of Hurricane Katrina,” spent September 2007 touring U.S. military bases, has built homes for Habitat for Humanity and is a volunteer spokesman for Louisiana’s United Way of Acadiana.
Hard Rock International presented Broussard with its 2007 “Love All, Serve All” Award in recognition of this volunteerism.
Since 2015, Broussard has made philanthropy a permanent part of his life with the establishment of the SOS Foundation. His goal is to use music, recorded or live, to raise money for causes for which he is passionate.
A portion of album sales for the lullaby collection, as well as “I Love You for You” book, is donated to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.