Donnie Demers is an American musician and multi-platinum selling songwriter. Donnie's songs have been recorded and performed by various artists from around the world, including

Amir Haddad Laurent Amir Khlifa Khedider Haddad ( he, לורן עמיר חליפה חדידר חדד, born 20 June 1984), better known as Amir Haddad ( he, עמיר חדד), or simply as Amir, is a French-Israeli singer and songwriter. He took part in 2006 ...

and

Joanna Forest Joanna Forest is an English, UK Number 1 Classical Album selling soprano. Early life Forest trained at The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Career Soprano In 2014, Forest first performed as a solo soprano at Busting to Sing in the West ...

Life and work

Born with muscular dystrophy and raised in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, Donnie began playing the piano when he was just four years old. His first taste of "show biz" was during his apprenticeship as

Poster child A poster child (sometimes poster boy or poster girl) is, according to the original meaning of the term, a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters or other media as part of a campaign to raise money or enlist ...

for the

Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular d ...

for the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He attended

Doherty Memorial High School Doherty Memorial High School is a public high school of commerce located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It opened its doors in the fall of 1966, replacing two closing schools: Worcester Classical High School and Worcester Commerce Hi ...

, where his interests in songwriting began to flourish and furthered his musical studies at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. In 1982, Donnie made his first national television appearance on the "

Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in ...

" broadcast. He performed his song, "If We Fell in Love Again," receiving a standing ovation that prompted Jerry Lewis to hold an unscheduled interview with the young composer. In 1983, producers of the Jerry Lewis Telethon commissioned Donnie to write their national jingle promoting the annual Labor Day broadcast. That jingle, "Labor Day Is America's Day (for MDA)" premiered over television and radio stations nationwide from 1983 to 1984 during pre-Telethon promotion. In 1992, Donnie's song, "Second Chance" appeared in the film "Double Trouble" directed by

John Paragon John Dixon Paragon (December 9, 1954 – April 3, 2021) was an American actor, writer and director. He is known for his work on the television series ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', where he portrayed Jambi the Genie and provided the voice for Pterri ...

and starred David Paul, Peter Paul,

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

and

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series '' Kung Fu'', playi ...

. The song was performed by Donnie and

Pepper MaShay Jean McClain (born March 8, 1953), better known as Pepper Mashay, is an American soul, house and dance music singer-songwriter who has had success as a touring and studio performer. Early life McClain grew up in Muncie, Indiana. Growing up, h ...

. On October 11, 2007, Donnie was a special guest artist at the Closing Ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai, China where he performed and premiered his original composition, "Benediction (Let The Best of You Go Free)" written especially for the 2009 World Winter Games of the Special Olympics In 2008, Donnie Demers appeared as Arranger, Art Director, composer, Executive Producer, Package Designer, Pianist and Vocal Producer on the

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...

release of the debut album " Dream a Little by his brother Jimmy Demers. This was the first major record label that the brothers worked on together. In February 2009, Donnie Demers performed "Benediction (Let the Best of You Go Free)", the theme song that he wrote for the

2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games was held in the state of Idaho, USA from February 7 through February 13, 2009. Nearly 2,500 athletes from over 100 countries participated in the games. Dignitaries included actors, musicians, athlete ...

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

. He performed the song with his brother Jimmy, along with a full orchestra and choir live at the

Ford Idaho Center The Ford Idaho Center is a complex of sports and entertainment venues in Nampa, Idaho, approximately west of Boise. About The Ford Idaho Center Arena is best known for rodeo. It annually hosts the Snake River Stampede, considered one of the n ...

for the Opening Ceremonies. The Demers brothers also performed Over the Rainbow at the Closing Ceremonies." On September 27, 2014, Donnie's song, "Save Your Love For Me" premiered in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, at the 2014 David Foster Foundation Miracle Concert under the musical direction of

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

. Donnie (who attended the event) was introduced to the audience by Foster. On April 22–25, 2015, Donnie's song, "Inspire the World" (co-written by Terry Coffey) was featured throughout the

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Edward Jones Dome The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones Do ...

. The song was commissioned by the founders of 'FIRST'

Dean Kamen Dean Lawrence Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Kamen holds over 1, ...

and

Woodie Flowers Woodie Claude Flowers (November 18, 1943 – October 11, 2019) was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His specialty areas were engineering design and product development; he held the Pappalardo Pr ...

. Donnie and his brother Jimmy Demers performed the song at the opening ceremony. On April 29, 2016, Donnie's song, "Broken Heart" (co written by Benoit Poher) was released on the second studio album '' Au cœur de moi'' (English: ''At the Heart of Me'') from French-Israeli singer

through

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. The album was certified 2× Platinum earning Donnie a Double Platinum award and as of September 2018, it has been certified triple platinum in France, gold in Switzerland and gold in Belgium. On March 10, 2017, Donnie's original song, "My Everything" was released by British soprano

on her debut album, '' Stars Are Rising'' – The track was recorded in Prague with the

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech: ''Filharmonici města Prahy'') is a classical orchestra, predominantly composed of Czech classical, jazz and guest musicians. The history of the orchestra goes back to the Film Symphony Orchestr ...

. The album went to number one on iTunesStars Are Rising by Joanna Forest on Apple Music
/ref> where Donnie's song landed in the No. 1 position digitally. The album has also hit No. 1 on

List of Classical Artist Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s This is the list of the number-one albums of the Classical Artist Albums Chart during the 2010s. In April 2012, Noah Stewart became the first black artist ever to top the Classical Artist Albums Chart. In January 2013, ''In a Time Lapse'' by ...

Proclamation

* 1983 September 5, "Donnie Demers Day" in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts present by Mayor Sara Robertson for rising to "inspirational heights as a composer, lyricist and musician.

References

External links

Billboard.com: Discography – Jimmy Demers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Donnie Record producers from California Living people Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from Worcester, Massachusetts People with muscular dystrophy Singers from Massachusetts Songwriters from Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from California Songwriters from California