Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., the Sinatra and soul singing season six winner of NBC TV’s America’s Got Talent contributed a new song to the International Global Day of Play telecast on Saturday, Apr. 25.
Murphy performed “Playground” for the first time ever, acapella, during the webcast. The song is perhaps best known as the title track from Tony Bennett’s 1998 album “Playground,” and was written by Bill Evans, Marilyn and Alan Bergman.
The Global Day of Play webcast telethon was organized to support the work of Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration. The non-profit has built a network of dozens of inclusive, sensory- and literacy-rich playgrounds throughout the world, including the United States, Mexico, Israel, Canada, Ecuador, Russia, and throughout the US. There are another 75 playgrounds currently in development, including in Argentina, South Africa, Armenia, the Dominican Republic and more. The playgrounds are specifically designed so that all kids can play together, those with and without disabilities.
Landau was inspired to participate by his manager Burke Allen, who had shared with him that his mother, a childhood polio survivor who was confined to a wheelchair her entire life and was unable to play with other children.
The webcast was hosted by Wizards of Waverly Place and Fuller House star Maria Pilar Canals-Barrera and featured a mix of volunteers from around the globe, parents of kids with disabilities and celebrity appearances including Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, Academy award winner JK. Simmons (Whiplash), actor Ashton Kutcher, Chelsea Clinton, Las Vegas magician Alain Nu, classic country hitmaker T. Graham Brown, Voices of Classic Soul and former Platters vocalist Joe Coleman, actor Kevin Sizemore (Woodlawn, MINE 9), Kevin’s son voiceover artist Gunnar Sizemore (Kung Fu Panda), Billboard chart-topper Alex Band from the Calling and more.
If you’d like to support Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration’s mission to build inclusive playgrounds, please text the word INCLUSION to 269-89 or visit http://inclusionmatters.org/donate. For more information, visit www.inclusionmatters.org.
