BEHIND THE SONG From the artist: I wrote Stayed Alive in 45 about my grandfather and WWII Veteran, Carl Joseph Koerner (CJ). When I was a kid I would ask him about his experience in WWII, but he never wanted to talk about it. I didn't understand why, because I was so young, so I kept asking him. One day he sat me down at his dinner table and talked to me for 3 hours about his experience in WWII. That is a day I will never forget. This song is about a particular story he told me that day. He was 18 years old when he was sent over to southern Germany to fight. He and 30 men in his company were running along a riverside, and they were being chased by a German Battalion that outnumbered them. They came to a fork in the river, and on the right-hand side a bridge crossed over the river. Grandpa's sergeant stopped the 30 men and picked 5 of them to stay back at the bridge. Their mission was to slow down the German Battalion and give the rest of his company a chance to get to safety. My grandfather was one of those chosen 5 soldiers to stay back at the bridge. He made it through, and at the end of this song you'll find out how. The idea behind the music video was to incorporate as many veterans and heroes as I could. I made a post asking people to send me photos of loved ones and veterans in their lives, so I could honor them by including them in my video. To my surprise, I was flooded with amazing content, and I showcased as many heroes as I could possibly fit. Thank you to everyone who sent in photos and thank you to all veterans who have fought and sacrificed for our right to freedom!!!