2017 -- H 5940

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING RHODE ISLAND NATIVE BILLY GILMAN ON HIS SINGING

CAREER AND FINISHING AS RUNNER-UP ON THE VOICE

     Introduced By: Representatives Mattiello, Kennedy, Giarrusso, Shekarchi, and Edwards

     Date Introduced: March 16, 2017

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, William Wendell Gilman, III, known professionally as "Billy Gilman", was

born on May 24, 1988, in Westerly, Rhode Island, the son of Frances "Fran" Woodmansee and

William Wendell Gilman, Jr. Billy was raised in the Town of Richmond along with his younger

brother Colin; and

     WHEREAS, Billy was a precocious youngster who loved singing from an early age. As a

toddler, Billy would sing for friends and family using his toy karaoke machine, wowing them

with his incredible voice and natural ability. By the age of 5, Billy would delight in shopping with

his mom at a Westerly supermarket, and would stick his head inside the door of a frozen food

case, and sing to see if the echo would make him sound like he was on a stage. He liked what he

heard and he scribbled on the condensation of the glass door the words, "Now Starring: Billy

Gilman!"; and

     WHEREAS, Billy gave his first public performance on a stage at the age of seven. Billy

Gilman later performed at the Washington County Fair in Richmond and other local fairgrounds

in the New England area. Billy endeared himself to his audience as the little boy in a towering

cowboy hat, possessing an amazingly big voice as he strutted around the stage. His grandmother

Ginger Woodmansee realized that other people might delight in hearing the 8-year old prodigy

sing, and thus she contacted Angela Bacari, a Westerly vocal coach and singer in her own right,

to help manage his career; and

     WHEREAS, Billy was discovered at the age of nine by Ray Benson of "Asleep at the

Wheel." Billy went to Austin, Texas, to work with Ray and made some demos of songs that

Benson shopped around, taking him on the road with the Dixie Chicks and George Strait. Next

were tours with Reba McEntire, as well as performances with Tim McGraw and Martina

McBride; and

     WHEREAS, Billy Gilman was later signed by Epic Records in Nashville and by the age

of eleven, he had recorded a debut album titled "One Voice". The title song from that album, also

titled "One Voice", went on to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a Top 20 hit on

the Billboard Hot Country songs chart in 2000; and

     WHEREAS, The memorable "One Voice" video shows Billy on a school bus going home

from school while watching everything that goes on around him. Billy sang in his lyrics about the

power of prayer: "We need some help, down here on earth, a thousand prayers, a million words.

One voice, One simple word, Hearts know what to say. One dream can change the world, Keep

believing." Billy was nominated that year for a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal

Performance, and at 11-years old was the youngest artist to ever have a Top 40 single on the

Billboard country chart; and

     WHEREAS, Billy Gilman released a Christmas album in 2000 titled "Classic

Christmas" which went gold, followed on May 8, 2001 by his second album "Dare to Dream,""

which was certified gold, with the singles "Elisabeth" and "She's My Girl" peaking at positions 50

and 56 respectively on the Billboard Country Music charts. After "Dare to Dream," Billy's voice

began to mature, forcing him temporarily to withdraw from singing; and

     WHEREAS, His final album for Epic was released on April 15, 2003, and was entitled

"Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J. T. Stepanek." The tracks

were based on the verse written by the child poet Mattie Stepanek, a young writer with muscular

dystrophy who died in 2004, almost one year after the album's release. Billy then signed a

contract with Image Entertainment in 2005 for the release of his fifth album, "Everything and

More". In 2006, a self-titled album "Billy Gilman" was released; and

     WHEREAS, In 2016, Billy Gilman auditioned for season 11 of the NBC television show

The Voice. In the blind audition broadcast on September 20, 2016, he sang the song "When We

Were Young," by Adele and achieved his goal of having all four judges turn their chairs to try to

get him on their team of talented singers. Billy then began his quest to win the competition as a

member of Team Adam with Adam Levine as his coach and mentor; and

     WHEREAS, Billy Gilman continued to impress the judges in the early rounds with his

flawless renditions of numerous songs including "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, "All I Ask"

by Adele, and "Anyway" by Martina McBride, earning a standing ovation from the public and all

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four judges after each performance, and advancing to the semi-finals; and

     WHEREAS, In the semi-finals, Billy Gilman earned another standing ovation from all

four judges for his performance of "I Surrender" by Celine Dion and his performance of the song

was featured at Number One on iTunes. In the finals, he performed "My Way" by Frank Sinatra,

"Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers as a duet with his coach and mentor, Adan Levine, and

closed out the competition with a rendition of his original song "Because of Me"; and

     WHEREAS, In recognition of his extraordinary talent and beautiful singing voice, Billy

Gilman was named the runner-up on The Voice Season 11 competition; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby congratulates Rhode Island native Billy Gilman for his outstanding

performance in the 2016 season of the television show, The Voice. We wish him much continued

success as a recording artist and look forward to seeing him perform in his home state of Rhode

Island and across this great nation; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Billy Gilman.

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