Albany singer Anne Cline pens ‘Albany Strong’ in honor of storm victims

ALBANY — It has been said that what does not kill us makes us stronger.

That is the mindset that has gotten Southwest Georgia through recent battles with severe weather, which was perhaps why singer Anne Cline used the saying in a recent song she wrote inspired by the storms.

Cline, a native of Virginia who now lives in Albany, recently posted a song she wrote titled “Albany Strong,” which has now gone viral in the nearly three weeks since she first shared it.

Cline said she has been passionate about music ever since she was a small child and was with her mother on car rides singing tunes from Broadway musicals such as “Annie” and “The Sound of Music.”

“I remember being in the 3rd grade and absolutely falling in love with Jewel Kilcher’s music,” said Cline. “‘You Were Meant For Me,’ was one of the very first songs that really got me hooked and inspired as far as wanting to be a musician.”

“Long story short, I picked up the guitar at the age of 15 and basically just taught myself. From that point forward, I stuck with it and started attempting to play and sing at the same time. Fortunately, it came as no challenge to me. I was quickly playing in bars and pretty much anywhere, where anyone would let me play.”

As she matured in her playing and singing, Cline started writing and has been growing as an artist to the point she stays booked-up as many six nights a week at venues in cities such as Albany, Valdosta, Tifton, Americus, Tallahassee and Thomasville.

“I love what I do and that’s (why) I do it, but, I also do it for you guys,” she said to her fans. “Truly, if it wasn’t for all of your love and support, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love so much.

“So, I am always thankful for each and every one of my fans and followers. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Cline has moved more times than she can can count — state to state and town to town — until finally feeling at home when she got settled in south Georgia.

“Moving to south Georgia has been one of the very best moves I have ever made for myself, spiritually and musically,” she said. “I consider Albany to be my home. I love this town and everyone in it. I love everything about it, really.”

It is not surprising then that she would feel compelled to use her gift when two strong storms, including a deadly Jan. 22 tornado, hit Albany and caused widespread devastation.

Even though there were trees down in her yard and on her home, and she was without power for two weeks, that seemed very minor to her in comparison to the destruction others were touched by.

“As everyone already knows, the devastation of the tornadoes (and severe) weather that we have had in the month of January, has just been unreal,” Cline said. “It’s all very heartbreaking to witness, and doing what I love so much is the best way that I know how to try and give something back to the community.”

Shortly after the EF-3 tornado, which killed five people in Albany, Cline said the creative juices started to flow.

“I remember sitting down in my dining room like two to three days after the tornado and picking up my guitar that I had left out from the night before,” she said. “Something just drew me to it and so I picked it up. I picked it up with the intentions of putting it back in its case, because I was actually cleaning.

“I ended up sitting down for a minute and started strumming some chords, started humming, then out came some lyrics. I got up, grabbed a piece of paper (and) started writing and playing in between. Within 10 minutes I had a song that I wanted to dedicate to all the families who had been affected by this terrible storm.”

Even though it was not quite finished, she recorded the song and posted the video to her Facebook page. It took only a few days before it had gone viral, and people were requesting it at her shows.

“The National Weather Channel got a hold of me to go live with them via Skype the following day, WALB and many, many others,” she said. “I was very surprised at the reaction to this song.”

“I just believe that each person is blessed with a certain talent, and with that talent, we should always be willing to share it with the world and use it for the good (of others). I’m just very grateful that I was able to touch people’s (hearts) and possibly give some people hope through music.”

Cline said she plans on recording “Albany Strong” soon, and once it’s released, she intends to give all proceeds from the sales to storm victims.

For more information on Cline and her shows, visit annecline.net or find her on Facebook. The “Albany Strong” video can be found on the Facebook page.