Billy gilman mattie stepanek biography

Mattie Stepanek, an American poet and peace activist, was born near Rockville, MD in July 1990. During his life he wrote seven best-selling books of poetry and peace essays. And he did it all before he turned fourteen. In June 2004, Mattie died of a rare form of muscular dystrophy. This illness also took the lives of his three older siblings.

Mattie’s hero was former president Jimmy Carter who said of him, “he was the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known.” After Mattie’s death, Carter edited his final book entitled Just Peace: A Message of Hope. Carter wasn’t Mattie’s only admirer. Mattie first appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show when he was eleven and the two became good friends. (see video below) Oprah named Mattie one of her all-time most memorable guests. Both she and Jimmy Carter spoke at Mattie’s funeral Mass. Carter called Mattie “a messenger from God.” And what was Mattie’s message? Said Carter, he called everyone to be “a peace seeker, a peace maker, a peace bringer.”

Mattie’s parents divorced after he was born. He lived with his mother who suffered from muscular dystrophy too. She was not diagnosed until she unknowingly passed the illness on to her four children. From an early age, Mattie was active in his parish. After making his First Communion, he served both as a lector and a catechist. One of his personal maxims in life was this: Life brings storms, but “remember to play after every storm.”

Mattie’s poems were eventually set to music. Billy Gilman, a young country music artist, was chosen to sing some of those poems. Gilman was 2 years older than Mattie and was himself a “young phenom.” His single hit “One Voice” was released when he was only twelve! Both Mattie and Billy became good friends. Billy even sang some of Mattie’s songs at his funeral Ma

Remember to play after every storm.

Matthew Stepanek

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Matthew Joseph Thaddeus “Mattie” Stepanek, the courageous little boy who became a best-selling poet and advocate for muscular dystrophy awareness on network talk shows including “Oprah,” “Larry King Live” and “Good Morning America,” has died. He was 13.

Mattie died Tuesday at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., of dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy, a rare form of muscular dystrophy that impairs breathing, digestion and heart rate. Three older siblings, Jamie, Katie and Steven, died of the disease before age 4, and his mother, Jeni Stepanek, has an adult-onset form that confines her to a wheelchair.

The bespectacled boy was near death many times during his short life. He reported twice seeing angels who beckoned but then “just vanished.”

“One of my primary specialists,” he told the Indianapolis Star in 2002 when he was invited to appear at the Indianapolis 500, “said I’m ‘hanging on the edge of a cliff with one foot hanging over and the other foot on a banana peel.’ Right now I feel like the banana peel is under my foot, but I’m steady. Sometimes when I’m very sick, he says I’m ‘doing the Electric Slide on the banana peel.’ ”

In the summer of 2001, doctors were so certain Mattie’s death was imminent that they asked him what his final wish was. He had three -- to publish his book of poetry, to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s television show as a spokesman for peace and to meet his hero, former President Carter.

Mattie got all three wishes -- and three more years of life in the public spotlight and hearts of the nation.

He subsequently published five books of poetry, which together have sold more than 1.5 million copies -- “Heartsongs,” “Journey Through Heartsongs,” “Hope Through Heartsongs,” “Celebrate Through Heartsongs” and “Loving Through Heartsongs.” Last year, teen country singer Billy Gilman released an album, “Music Through Heartso

American writer (1990-2004)

Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004), known as Mattie J.T. Stepanek, was an American poet (or, as he wanted to be remembered, "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played") who published seven best-selling books of poetry and peace essays. Before his death at the age of 13, he had become known as a peace advocate and motivational speaker.

Life and career

Matthew Stepanek was born on July 17, 1990. Stepanek's parents divorced when he was a child. He was raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and later lived in Rockville, Maryland. His hero was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who described Stepanek as "the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known".

Stepanek had the rare disorder dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. His three older siblings died from the same illness. The condition was unknown until his mother was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease in 1992, after all four of the children had been born.

Stepanek was a poet and speaker. He wrote six volumes of bestselling Heartsongs poetry books, and a collection of peace essays that also became a bestseller.

He was the lyricist for Music Through Heartsongs performed by Billy Gilman. The album was released by Epic Records in April 2003. It debuted at number 109 on the Billboard 200 and at number 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Death

Stepanek died at age 13 at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2004. He was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Legacy

Shortly after Stepanek's death in 2004, the non-profit Mattie Stepanek Peace Foundation was established by a group of citizens in Rockville, Maryland, where Stepanek had lived.

In 2008, the We Are Family Foundation hosted the first annual interna

  Chanteur Country US né le 24 Mai 1988 à Westerly (Rhode Island).

Only 11 years old when he notched his first hit single, Billy Gilman was the youngest performer ever to reach the Billboard country charts, breaking a record held by Brenda Lee since 1957. Gilman was born in Westerly, RI, on May 24, 1988, and grew up in nearby Hope Valley. He was singing before he started school and developed rapidly enough to start performing publicly at age seven. He was booked as an opening act at several county fairs, including one with headliner Jo Dee Messina. Gilman caught his big break when Asleep at the Wheel leader Ray Benson heard him sing and was impressed by the precocious power behind his Vocals. Benson had Gilman make a demo tape, which wound up landing the young singer a deal with Epic.
Backed by seasoned Nashville studio pros, Gilman completed his debut album, One Voice, in 2000. Its title song, a spiritual plea against school violence, climbed into the Top 20 of the country charts, and the album itself hit number two and quickly went gold. The follow-up single, "Oklahoma," was also a Top 40 hit, and the holiday album Classic Christmas was rushed out by the end of 2000; it reached number four on the country charts, and featured a duet with fellow Vocals prodigy Charlotte Church. Gilman's proper second album, Dare to Dream, appeared in 2001 and hit number six; it also spawned two minor chart hits in "She's My Girl" and "Elisabeth," the latter a sentimental ballad about a girl battling a terminal illness. That theme became the basis for Gilman's third album when he met young poet and best-selling author Mattie Stepanek -- a muscular dystrophy sufferer -- during a TV appearance with Larry King. Gilman decided to record Stepanek's poems in song form, and several Nashville pros were commissioned to set them to music. The result, Music Through He