New York, New York – Brumley Music, the legendary music and publishing company rich in tradition and heritage of Gospel, Country, Americana and Bluegrass music and founded by Albert E. Brumley, plays a pivotal role in a new theatrical release GREATER which is set to hit the big screens on January 29, 2016.
GREATER is a film about the true story of the unlikely career of Brandon Burlsworth (played by newcomer Christopher Severio), regarded as the greatest walk-on (i.e., non-scholarship player) story in the history of college football. Known for his distinctive black horn-rimmed glasses, the small-town Burlsworth always dreamed of playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks, but wasn’t considered good enough to play Division I football.
Undeterred, Brandon — with the support of his older brother, Marty (Neal McDonough), and their struggling single Mom, Barbara (Leslie
Easterbrook), takes a huge risk by walking on to the team in 1994. He succeeds in the face of staggering odds, and by the end of his college career, Burlsworth was not only a star player in the SEC, but he was also a 1st
Team All-American. He was then taken as an early pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Eleven days after being drafted into the NFL and before he was able to sign the contract that would have changed the financial status of his family forever, Brandon died in a car accident on his way home. His death stunned the state. His loss was particularly hard on the character Marty, who struggles in the film to hang on to his own faith in the aftermath of
Brandon’s death – confronted at his brother’s funeral by a mysterious farmer (Nick Searcy) who tries to convince him that a truly loving God would not let such a bad thing happen to someone who was so good.
The most recorded song of all time, “I’ll Fly Away†by Albert E. Brumley is performed by Bob Brumley in a scene where Burlsworth is driving the car and singing along. Fans can hear Bob’s rendition on the radio as Burlsworth (played by Christopher Sevario) is driving the car. A clip of that pivotal scene which changes the course of the story can be seen here: http://bit.ly/flyaway_40sec
