Clayton Gardner is the kind of guy who "gets it". He was in west Texas for a routine radio tour to promote his new single, 'Happy Ending', and Gardner made it a point to drop into the KEAN-105 studio in the middle of our St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Radiothon. At a time in his career when every mention of his new single is extremely important to him, Clayton put his self-promotion skills aside to put the focus on the St. Jude cause.

We spent a little time discussing Gardner's previous experience with St. Jude Radiothons, and how he volunteered his time in the past in his hometown. He tells us, "Back in College Station, my hometown, Brandon Rhyder did [the St. Jude Radiothon] a couple years ago, and it feels good to be part of a good cause." He was also gracious when I put him on the spot, asking him to donate and autograph copies of his EP, 'Here to Stay' for listeners who became 'Partners In Hope' by donating to St. Jude. Take a listen:

In the second segment of Clayton Gardner's visit, rather than spotlight his new single, Clayton chose to do a live performance of a new song. One that he felt was more fitting for the St. Jude Radiothon. He said, "Yeah, this is a brand new song. I wrote this with my buddy, Brandon Rhyder...and it really fits with St. Jude, you know. It's a really important cause, you know, to help these kids out...you know, people aren't really paying attention to the important things in life. You know, I  think it'd be alright every once in a while if someone would put down their iPhone and really paid attention to what's going on in life, you know?". Take a listen to the second half of the interview and song here:

Before he ever showed up for his visit Thursday, I was already a fan of Clayton Gardner's music. Now, I'm a fan of the man. Thanks, Clayton, for lending your time and talent to bring St. Jude Children's Research Hospital into the spotlight.

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