Retired Marine Colonel and recording artist Mike Corrado has collaborated with hit songwriter Don Goodman, founder of Freedom Sings USA. This Chattanooga, TN-based non-profit helps veterans, military personnel, and their families find emotional balance by sharing their stories through songwriting. Their mission is to use music to heal and provide ongoing support to veterans nationwide. Available to Stream and Download Here.
After retiring from the Marine Corps, Corrado moved to Shelbyville, TN, where he built Harmony Hill, a recording studio and content creation venue. David Corlew, a long-time friend, manager, and business partner of the late Charlie Daniels and co-founder of The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project, introduced Corrado to Don Goodman and Freedom Sings USA. Mike attended several songwriting sessions at the Murfreesboro, TN chapter.
Goodman recognized the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps’ formation on November 10, 1775, at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. This inspired the veterans to pen “Goodnight Chesty Puller,” a song that salutes the United States Marine Corps. The song opens with “I was born on a Friday, in the back of a bar…” and recounts Marine beginnings, battles, and a toast to those who earned the title. It concludes with “Goodnight Chesty Puller, Wherever You Are,” a phrase familiar to Marines globally as a ritualistic goodnight to the Corps’ most decorated Marine during bootcamp and officer candidate school.
The song was recorded at Corrado’s Harmony Hill studio with Nashville musicians Mike Rojas (keys), Byron Fisher (bass), Jacob Sutton and Jon Lassiter (guitars), Mike Corrado (vocals), and Stacey Lamont Sydnor (drums). Sydnor and Corrado served together at Camp Lejeune and later toured the Southeast as the Mike Corrado Band. Their trajectory changed after 9/11 when Corrado returned to active duty as an Infantry Officer until his retirement in 2020. Sydnor pursued a career as a studio and touring drummer and music director, and recently returned from Chaka Khan’s world tour.
With “Goodnight Chesty Puller,” Mike, the veterans, songwriters, and musicians of Freedom Sings USA deliver a heartfelt blend of country, rock, blues, and gospel as a tribute to the United States Marine Corps. This song stands out in an age of AI-generated music, as it was created with “stubby pencils, creativity, real instruments and a healthy dose of camaraderie.”
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