Singer, actor collaborate on new single

An Oshawa musician received some unique inspiration for his newest single.

Singer/songwriter and actor James Collins recently released his song Gentle Road Back Home to Canadian and U.S. radio stations.

According to a media release, the song was inspired by the book Forgiving Troy by actor Thom Bierdz.

Bierdz played Phillip Chancellor III on the popular soap opera The Young and The Restless for three years.

Two months after he left the show, his younger brother, Troy, beat their mother to death.

“This unimaginable, tragic turn sent Thom’s life and career into complete turmoil,” the release states.

After Troy received a long prison sentence, he was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

With this in mind, Thom forgave his brother and wrote the book about the experience.

Collins and Bierdz would eventually become Facebook friends, and soon decided they would like to collaborate.

Eventually the two co-wrote the song Gentle Road Back Home as way to continue Bierdz’ healing process.

The song is described as a folk/pop song with a vibe of “James Taylor meets Billy Joel.”

The video for the song can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91kIkiUFUU

In the past, Collins has co-written more than 20 charting singles in Canada and appeared on shows such as Flashpoint.