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FYI

Gary Slaight Honoured by MusiCounts

Gary Slaight and the Slaight Family Foundation continue to leave an indelible mark on Canada’s music scene with millions of dollars granted to a long list of organizations and his continuing invest

Gary Slaight Honoured by MusiCounts

By FYI Staff

Gary Slaight and the Slaight Family Foundation continue to leave an indelible mark on Canada’s music scene with millions of dollars granted to a long list of organizations and his continuing investment in Slaight Music that offers an opportunity to undiscovered talent to hone their skills and release songs with backing from a variety of labels that he and his organization are tapped into.


There’s really no one else in the world who wisely donates his wealth to a wide spectrum of music, musicians and need-worthy organizations, including MusiCounts, which has benefited from close to $1M to put musical instruments into the hands of high school students.

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From the clip, Gary Slaight explains: “We have always had a connection because of radio to music. It is in our blood. We’ve always had an affinity to work with Canadian artists, so it is in our DNA. It is important that the kids start early and develop a love for music and incorporate it into their lives in some way shape or form.”

Continuing: “It is more evident now than ever with what is going on in the world that kids need something to do with their time that is going to fulfill them emotionally and spiritually. That is what music does for people. When the program started it was to do with music in the schools and classrooms and getting instruments into their hands.

“It is a matter of getting young people to appreciate music… We jump in there to fill the need. It is important for this to be in the schools but also for music to be in the community. You take the challenge to help others, and you want to do it in a meaningful way. It involves a lot of work – You can’t help but feel good when you are helping others.”

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What follows is Gary enunciating why he does what he does, what he fervently believes in, and the joy it gives him in doing so.

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Tré Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Mike Dirnt of Green Day attend the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 01, 2024.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Tré Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Mike Dirnt of Green Day attend the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 01, 2024.

Rock

Green Day Celebrate ‘Dookie’ Going Double-Diamond: ‘Thank You To Everyone Who Has Loved This Album’

The pop-punk trio's breakthrough 1994 album is just the 13th ever to be RIAA certified with more than 20 million units sold in the U.S.

Welcome to history, Green Day. The pop-punk trio celebrated a major career milestone this week when their breakthrough third studio album, 1994’s Dookie, was certified double-diamond. With that honorific, the group’s major label became just the 13th album ever to be RIAA certified for sales of more than 20 million units in the U.S., joining such iconic LPs as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, AC/DC’s Back in Black, Led Zeppelin IV, The Beatles, Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Shania Twain’s Come On Over, among others.

The group were presented with the award by label Warner Records and their team at Crush mgmt at their sold-out show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA last Saturday. In an Instagram post earlier this week, singer Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool proudly showed off their Diamond awards backstage at Sofi and thanked their die-hards for helping them make history.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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