Country rock singer Clayton Bellamy was lying on his back in an Edmonton hospital bed with a lacerated liver and a bruised spleen from a Supercross race he didn’t win when he realized music was going to be his main priority for the future.
Many years and accolades later, including a Juno Award with his band The Road Hammers and tours around the world, the Bonnyville singer is preparing for the release of a new solo record on March 6 and is basking with the number one downloaded single on iTunes from the first week of January entitled “Everyone’s A Dreamer.”
“That was the first time when I thought, ‘you know what, I think I’m going to try this music thing full time,’” Bellamy explained in regards to his epiphany-like moment at the hospital. “I had lots of time to think about it because I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks!”
Growing up on a farm in a close-knit Alberta community, Bellamy’s love for music went hand in hand with his passion for racing motorbikes, which he still does today and is currently on a Western Canadian tour in partnership with Triumph Motorcycles. The music side started with influence from his teachers, parents and one family member in particular who introduced him to ‘the essentials.’
“My uncle George would always send me mix tapes,” he said. “I didn’t even realize it at the time as a kid, but I was listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and all of these great bands growing up.”
In the Bellamy household, the motto was simple, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” The young singer/guitarist left the house with the family motto in mind when he was 17 to study music in Red Deer. After joining the band The Road Hammers, Bellamy was soon gracing the stage of the famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We played the Grand Ole Opry a few years ago and we had a standing ovation. I literally got down on my knees and kissed the floor. It was a lifetime of work to get to that point. There was a span of time where all these things were happening and it was kind of a blur, but if I had to name the best show that was probably it.”
With the Hammers currently taking a break, Bellamy has his sights set on releasing his solo album on MDM Recordings Inc, however, he indicates the new single and album are not just about displaying his art.
“I didn’t want this record and this song to be just another song and record. I wanted it to be something more than that. It's not a Tony Robbins record or anything. It’s still got that country rock edge I like to think I'm popular for with The Road Hammers. The whole vibe is just a good feeling, good time record. There's plenty of rockers to crank up on the road and a couple of weepers, that's what makes a good country record.”
This March, Bellamy will be a guest speaker to over 4,000 kids at schools across northern Alberta where he will be using his music and lyrics, as well as his own personal story, to inspire students to follow their own dreams.
“I talk to them about following their dreams. I did it and you can do it. Here are some tools to do it. Everybody’s got a dream in his or her heart. There’s a thing that you’re supposed to do and I think sometimes, kids especially, don’t know where to start.”
“I’ve recruited some of my friends,” he added. “I had Jordan Tootoo and Terry Grant the Mantracker do some videos with me recently that are up on YouTube and they’re talking about how they followed their dreams. All of that stuff together is going to be part of the presentation I’m going to take around.”
Now living in Nashville with his wife and two sons, Bellamy is preparing for the speaking tour, playing shows in support of his solo album and planning a new potential Hammers record, however he has never lost track of where he is from and who it has made him today.
“I love the small town. I like that everybody is looking out for each other. I’m a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child. I wouldn’t be where I am today without, not just my parents and immediate family, but the teachers and the neighbour down the street and the people looking out for each other.
“My wife is from Bonnyville. Both our kids were born there and if anybody ever asks me, although all the years I’ve been away and traveled the world, I’m still from Bonnyville, Alberta. That’s where I was born and where they’ll put me in the ground.”
