BlackHawk Embodies Spirit of Giving

Blackhawk performs on the Greased Lightning® Daytime Stages at Riverfront Park in Downtown Nashville during the 2006 CMA Music Festival. Photo Provided by the Country Music Association

December 14, 2007 — As talk turns to who had the biggest year in country music album and ticket sales, the members of BlackHawk remind us of what's truly important during the holidays.

The Tennessean reports that on Tuesday, Henry Paul and Dave Robbins donated $15,000 they raised from fans during the year to the Frances W. Preston Cancer Research Lab at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The annual donation is made in the name of BlackHawk's Van Stephenson, who died in 2001 from melanoma.

"For me, it's a very real way of perpetuating his memory and keeping his musical legacy alive because he was such a gifted artist," says Henry, noting that Van's widow, Karen, attended the presentation. "He was one of the most talented people I've ever worked with."

Henry says their donation was nothing compared with Rascal Flatts' recent hospital donation of nearly $830,000.

"We work really hard all year, and we raise $15,000 and that's it," he says. "But it's $15,000 that is raised literally a dollar at a time. It takes us 12 months to raise it; it's like putting a buck in the collection plate. God says give what you can, and that's what we have."

But it's not the size of the donation, but the intentions behind it that matter most, as BMI's Jody Williams reminded Henry after the singer presented the check to hospital officials.

"He said, 'Hank, this is really a good thing you are doing,' " Henry recalls. "I said, 'Thanks, Jody. That means a lot to me. It's not a lot of money.' He said, 'It's not about that. It's the spirit of what this is, which is so genuine.'

"In the cynical, glitzy world of entertainment and country music of rhinestones and gold records, it kind of gets lost. It helps me stay focused on doing something really positive."