An Oklahoma inmate is going viral after a video of him playing “America The Beautiful” on piano garnered attention online.
Anthony Yandell is an inmate at Oklahoma’s Bill Johnson Correctional Center. During a Veteran’s Day ceremony held at the state prison, Yandell sat down at the piano and played a stunning rendition of “America The Beautiful.”
An attendee captured the performance on video and shared it on the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ social media pages. The caption stated that Yandell is an accomplished musician who “had a little hiccup in life.”
It’s unclear why Yandell is serving time and when he will be released, but he stated that he plans to return to music after his release. Watch his beautiful performance of the patriotic classic in the video below.
No doubt artists like Merle Haggard, David Allen Coe, and Jelly Roll serve as an inspiration for musicians like Anthony Yandell.
Haggard, Coe, and Jelly Roll are just a few of the artists who spent time in jail or prison prior to finding success. Their time behind bars was part of their stories of redemption and they built careers off of writing music inspired by their experiences.
Jelly Roll has been outspoken about the decisions he made in his younger years. The singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, found himself behind bars for the first time at age 14. He was repeatedly incarcerated over the next decade for everything from drug possession and dealing to shoplifting and aggravated robbery.
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The former rapper’s story of redemption is front and center of every aspect of his career. He often visits jails, prisons, and detention centers during tour stops to encourage inmates that there is life after incarceration.
“The windshield is bigger than the rear-view mirror for a reason, because what’s in front of us is so much more important than what’s behind us,” he told inmates during a recent visit in Michigan. “For you it might be welding, for you it might be barbering. Whatever it is, find that thing. And it might be just starting with simply being a good father.”
See one of Jelly Roll’s prison visits in the video below.