BURBANK — Mike Boyd felt helpless when he watched news reports of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I would look at the news every day and see kid, after kid, after kid dying,” Boyd said. “I felt so much for our U.S. troops who were dying.”
Instead of wondering what he could do to help the troops, Boyd went into to action. He founded a series of “American Soldier Thank You” concerts to help raise funds for military personnel.
“It was something I needed to do for them, knowing all the things they have done for us,” said Boyd, the founder of Burbank-based Singboy Productions. “This is the least that I can do to say thank you to all those soldiers who have given so much for us.”
With a background in sports — he is the brother of former major-leaguer Dennis “Oil Can’ Boyd — and music, Boyd successfully brought together events honoring the troops.
One of those events, “American Soldier Thank You Concert and StandStill Baseball Exhibition Game,” will take place July 18 at Stengel Field in Glendale.
“This is our fifth American soldier concert,” Boyd said. “As long as their are soldiers fighting for us, I want to continue having concerts for them.”
Scheduled to appear at the concert are The Temptations Review, featuring Dennis Edwards, Cuba Gooding Sr, lead singer from the main Ingredient with hits “Everybody Plays the Fool” and “Just Don’t want to be Lonely,” the band Impromp2, Scorpio, who was Michael Jackson’s understudy, singers Chelsea, and Samona Cooke (daughter of Sam Cooke) and Blinky Williams and the Hollywood Choir.
Boyd himself will also perform, singing his song: “American Soldier Thank You (for all you do).”
Although the concert is important to Boyd, so is the event that will precede the music. There will be a StandStill Baseball exhibition. Former big-league players “Oil Can” Boyd, Rudy Law, Lee Lacy and Jay Johnstone are among the athletes who will take part.
“I am really excited about the StandStill Baseball games,” Mike Boyd said. “It is a great game, and a great game for the fans to watch.”
