Dakota Bradley Teams With American Red Cross for New Single, ‘Name on It’ [Watch]

Rising country singer Dakota Bradley is teaming with the American Red Cross for his new single, for reasons that are very close to his heart.

"When I was 15 years old, the house that I grew up in burned down," the 21-year-old singer-songwriter tells Taste of Country. "I was at school. The firemen and the American Red Cross were the first people at the house. They gave us so much, and they helped us out so much. It was such an unbelievable, warm feeling of love that they gave my family."

That touched off an unusual series of events for Bradley, who subsequently moved to Nashville to pursue his music and got discovered by country super-producer Byron Gallimore after a YouTube video landed him a performance slot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He's currently working on an album with Gallimore and co-producer Tim McGraw. "Name on It" derives from those sessions, and it came to Bradley through a very generous gesture on McGraw's part.

"The day after I played for Tim, actually, he invited me to the studio — the second day I even knew him," Bradley shares. "This song was on hold for his album, Two Lanes of Freedom. He was gonna record it, and he said, 'Man, I think you should listen to this song. If you like it, you can record it.' I looked at the writers, and it was Craig Wiseman, Rodney Clawson and David Lee Murphy. I listened to it and fell in love with it, and that was two years ago."

As part of his partnership with the Red Cross, Bradley will donate fifty cents from every download of "Name on It" to the American Red Cross. He has also been named the organization's global ambassador. "It's such an honor," he says. "I'm so thankful to be part of it."

That association will include Red Cross members coming to Bradley's shows, and he will accompany them on visits with first responders. "They'll be taking me with them, and I'm gonna help in any way I can," he tells us. "I lost my house in a fire, and I'm gonna meet people that have gone through the same thing, and hopefully be able to relate to them, and inspire them, and tell them that life goes on, even though you lose all of your material things. At least you're still here, and you've got your family."

Bradley has no definite time frame for his forthcoming debut album, but he was taking a break from working on new songs to speak to Taste of Country for this article. He is currently on a radio tour that will last most of the rest of the year, but he is especially excited about working with the Red Cross.

"I'm just really excited and thankful to be a part of the Red Cross," he says. "It's a dream to be working with them. They're great people, and they make a difference in the world. And that's exactly what I want to do in my life and with my music."

Bradley is letting Taste of Country readers see an exclusive video of him performing "Name on It." Take a look at that clip above, then download "Name on It" at iTunes to help those in need. Keep up with Dakota Bradley on Facebook, Twitter and his official website.

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