Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik Salutes the Troops Again with New CD

This Thanksgiving marks the fourth year in a row that Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik has put together a free album exclusively for members of the U.S. military.  In addition to including one of his own songs, each year John persuades some of music's biggest names to donate tracks to the project for free.  John says the project, called For the Troops, is strictly apolitical -- it includes music from both conservative and liberal musicians.  He explains, "My goal was to have all these artists from different political spectrums come together and say, 'Whatever we disagree on is one thing, but what we do agree on is these folks who support and die for our freedom.'"

Last year's For the Troops album was a collection of comedy routines from big names like Chris Rock, Dennis Miller and Dana Carvey.  This year, it's back to music.  John says, "The first [album] was, like, the superstars of superstars...Billy Joel, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge...so this one, I thought we'd do some younger kids."  Among the artists featured on For the Troops IV are Matchbox Twenty, Gavin Degraw, Mat Kearny, Ingrid Michaelson, Ryan Starr, Our Lady Peace and many more.  John says next year, he'll probably focus on classic rock from the eighties.

Since the For the Troops album project started, John says, "We've distributed 800 thousand CDs overseas, to Iraq, Afghanistan, military hospitals...[and] we've had hundreds of thousands of downloads."  He plans to continue doing these albums as long as he can, and he says it hasn't been a problem getting the music, either.  He says, "I've been overwhelmed with the support...the musicians...give me their songs for free. Their biggest hits, from the biggest bands."

For the Troops IV is available as a free download to active duty service members, veterans and their families all around the world, as long as they have a valid military ID.  You can get it at ShopMyExchange.com.  Another 200 thousand hard copies of the disc are being sent around the globe to military bases and other locations.

Here's what's on this year's For the Troops CD:

Matchbox 20- - "If You're Gone"
Wynonna -- "What the World Needs"
Mat Kearny -- "Nothing Left to Lose"
Brandi Carlile -- "Before It Breaks"
Five for Fighting -- "Note to an Unknown Soldier"
Our Lady Peace -- "Paper Moon"
12 Stones -- "We Are One"
Ingrid Michaelson -- "Mountain and the Sea"
Barenaked Ladies -- "Four Seconds"
Gavin DeGraw -- "Free"
Rocket Club -- "One Beautiful Thing"
Finger 11 -- "Gather and Give"
Ryan Star -- "Last Train Home"
John David Kahn -- "American Heart"

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