Brave too

Much of West Virginia is still buzzing about Landau Eugene Murphy's winning of the America's Got Talent contest. The Logan County native has proven that Sinatra-style crooning can still work in unlikely places.

I was amused by this anecdote as reported by WV Metro News:

At one point, his rare talent prompted a wager. A friend bet Murphy he couldn't sing Sinatra and get away with it at a bar out in a rural area of the southern West Virginia county.

But like the judges on AGT, the bar goers were amazed, Murphy says with a smile.

"Ever since, I've never had to pay to go into that bar," said Murphy.

I'd say we can add courage to Murphy's other admirable qualities.

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And the winner is...

The big news in many parts of West Virginia today--and especially the southern coalfields around Logan County--is that singer Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., who formerly washed cars at an auto dealership, was voted the winner last night on America's Got Talent.

Murphy has been no stranger to hard times and was even homeless for stretch, but his victory brings $1 million, a recording contract and the chance to open in Las Vegas.

While he obviously needed votes from all over the country to win, West Virginians were pulling hard for him. In Logan, people would come together to watch the show and cheer. West Virginia's acting governor Earl Ray Tomblin, also from Logan County, urged state residents to vote for him. I even saw a billboard supporting Landau in Huntington earlier this week.

West Virginians, whatever our differences, are a pretty tribal crew and we're always excited when one of our own makes good. A story like this is the stuff of movies, and I wouldn't be surprised if that happens one of these days.

Congratulations and all the best to Landau in the future.

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