Remember us - A Tribute

Remember Us: A Tribute

What started as a trip to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in 2020, has turned into a song about honoring our nation’s heroes and patriotic legacy for a long-time Augusta resident.

Remember Us, which can be downloaded here, was written by Randy Hatcher and just recently released via CDX Digital as a song by a group of Nashville musicians led by Rich Eckhardt, most well known as the lead guitar player for Toby Keith.

“This song is about America and what we stand for,” Hatcher said. “I think that this is an apt message for Memorial Day as we honor those who gave everything so that all Americans can live free.”

The son of a World War II veteran, Hatcher and his wife Marilee, decided to visit Normandy last fall after numerous friends recommended the spot for the long-time travelers. Hatcher said this wasn’t a trip to Europe with Normandy as a one-off stop. The entire trip was to experience first-hand what many friends said would leave him shaken.

“I think what surprised me the most was the overall size. It was much bigger than I imagined,” he said. “The overall scope and coordination of the planning. All of the details to make it happen. People told me before we went, ‘it will shake you.’ It did.”

However, he didn’t expect a melody to come into his head and some lyrics come out of the back of his mind in the shower that night. But inspiration struck and the sinewy tendrils of a song came to life for him. He told Marilee, who says she doesn’t remember him telling her about the song, and figured he would forget it as well in a few days. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something there to this song that wouldn’t leave his head.

A businessman by trade, Hatcher had no knowledge of how to make a record or who to call to do so. However, he was resilient and he was able to get a contact for Jody Jackson with the John Jarrard Foundation, which helps promotes music in Georgia amongst other philanthropic endeavors.

Jackson then put him in touch with Eckhardt, who saw the potential and the song and put together a group of musicians to cut the track in Nashville. The group was dubbed Wild Bill and the Flying GoCarts, which has a special significance for Hatcher. His father, Bill, would add the moniker “Wild” to people’s names as a form of friendly greeting, and he used to talk about an amazingly fast go-cart he had, which was dubbed the flying go-cart. The group recorded in Eckhardt’s home studio starting on March 8, 2018.

It was the first time ever being in a recording studio, and Hatcher described it a surreal experience as he heard his song coming back to him through a set of headphones sitting amidst Eckhardt’s memorabilia and gold records from a 30-year career playing with everyone from Rodney Atkins to Steve Cropper to Willie Nelson to Shania Twain to Merle Haggard.

“They would play parts. Then play again and Rick was telling them do more of this. Less of that,” Hatcher recalled. “It was like they were talking in code.”

Eckhardt and his team put the finishing touches on the song over the next few weeks and emailed the recording to Hatcher via a wave file on March 23. Driving, he pulled over his car and touched the triangular play button on his phone. The song that had started in his head in Normandy was now playing back to him.

“I turned it up and cranked it,” he said.

Hatcher said the song is not about any fame or glory for him. It's his way of honoring all Americans as we approach Memorial Day 2018. The song has been released to more than 2,000 radio stations across the country earlier this month via CDX Digital. He just wants the song to be heard and for people to think about that message.

“At the end of the day, we need to remember where we came from as a people and where we want to be in the future,” Hatcher said

If you were unable to download the single from the link above, click here.