Last week, we posted John Parr's new song, "Tim Tebow's Fire," a reworking of his "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" with a new subject: Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow. John Parr was nice enough to talk with us about the song, Tim Tebow, his tour, and his upcoming appearance in American Anthems.What made you redo your '80s hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" as a tribute to Tim Tebow? Are you a big fan of his?
I was up at ESPN to pitch a song I had written for Monday Night Football. It was the day that Tim was announced as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. They asked if I would play "St Elmo's Fire" on the SportsNation show.
Just minutes before we went live, they threw me a Tebow jersey and said, "Would you wear this?" I said, "Sure" and off we went live. I noticed they were running video of Tim Tebow behind me so at the end of the chorus I sang, "Tim Tebow's fire." The studio went crazy and everybody came on the floor and sang. A few weeks later, they asked me if I would do a studio version so that [ESPN] could make a short Time Life-type film of Tim's story, both past and present. I liked the idea so rather than tamper with the original, I recorded the track from scratch. Once I shared it with a couple of people, it just caught fire.
In terms of motivation, "St Elmo's Fire" was originally written about wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen, who was just beginning his attempt to circumnavigate the globe in his chair on the Man In Motion World Tour. The song helped raise awareness of Rick and went number 1 in almost every country he wheeled through. This year sees the 25th anniversary of his successful completion and the foundation has raised in excess of $250,000,000 for spinal research. Watching Tim on and off the field, I found him inspiring. A maverick, unafraid to go his own way. A man who believes in something in a world where few of us believe in anything. In truth, that's why I went the extra mile and rerecorded the song. Tim also has a foundation dedicated to helping children. I have written a new song "Just A Man" as a personal anthem for Tim in the genuine hope that we raise funds for this wonderful cause.
