Rock Legend Joe Walsh Digs In With JCB to Aid Veterans
The partnership between JCB and Joe Walsh’s VetsAid charity aims to raise awareness and funds for U.S. veterans through Walsh’s new anthem “Dig It” and various merchandise collaborations, with JCB pledging $250,000 to kick off the initiative. Both parties expressed their shared values and excitement about using their respective platforms of construction equipment and rock music to support military veterans and their families.
London saw the announcement of a special long-term partnership between JCB and multi-GRAMMY award winning musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joe Walsh and his charity and annual benefit festival, VetsAid.
The creative partnership was launched at Monster Jam at the London Stadium on Saturday, July 13 with the official premiere of “Dig It” – an original anthem by Joe Walsh, which also features Joe’s brother-in-law Ringo Starr on drums. The new anthem was played when the JCB DIGatron truck entered the arena.
Joe’s song represents the start of the creative partnership between JCB and his charity VetsAid. JCB, one of the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturers of construction and agricultural equipment, often deploys its machines in war-torn regions, playing a crucial role in the rebuilding process after conflicts.
Recognising their shared values and goals, Alice Bamford and Ann Eysenring of the JCB family company, reached out to their friends Joe and Marjorie Walsh and devised the partnership which will raise awareness and funds for U.S. veterans through the power of rock and the transformative process of rebuilding.
As part of this partnership ‘Dig It’ will be used as the signature track for the JCB DIGatron. Monster Jam is an international competition that sees world-champion athletes and their 12,000-pound trucks compete in a series of speed and skill tests. This year’s competition featured the international debut of the JCB DIGatron.
Inspired by Alice and Ann’s eight-year-old son Otis, a monster truck enthusiast himself, Joe sought to capture the excitement of a child and the raw energy of monster truck action in his composition, ‘Dig It’
Additionally, JCB has pledged $250,000 to VetsAid to kick-off the partnership. Next up, supporters can also look out for limited-edition merchandise, a special DIGatron toy and even a limited edition JCB machine, with a percentage of sales benefiting the non-profit organisation.
Alice commented: “This is a legacy project between two families and it is absolutely amazing to be working with Joe Walsh to raise further awareness for his charity.”
Veterans and their families have always been important to Joe, who lost his father, Robert Newton Fidler, a US Army Air Corps flight instructor for the first American operational jet-powered aircraft, while he was on active duty over Okinawa when Joe was only 20 months old.
“VetsAid isn’t just about raising money and awareness for America’s veterans and their families,” Joe commented. “It’s also about finding common ground amongst music-lovers of all backgrounds and coming together to build and rebuild communities around a shared love of country. It’s a privilege for us at VetsAid to expand upon this vision with.
“Alice and Ann, and our friends at JCB, and to keep the party going with this kick-ass new song and exciting partnership!”
