Allmeda Vance
By Mike Cox MWC423@bellsouth.net

Hilltop Records, a company based in California, trolls copyright records and peruses verses and songs looking for talent. The company isn't a distributing company or a traditional recording studio; they put CDs together for prospective songwriters. They supply the studio, musicians, singers, and in some cases, even music. Two local writers are being featured in a newly released compilation recorded by Hilltop, titled

"Proud to Be an American."

Almeda Vance, a local poet, was contacted by Hilltop about using a poem she wrote titled "A Shock To Me." The company put music to the poet's words, had Kathy Rider sing it, and included it in one of the compilations dedicated to the military folks serving in Iraq. The collection is filled with inspirational and uplifting songs and can be heard by all people.

Vance says her mother was her inspiration. Annie Bell Vance raised 17 children and instilled in each one of them the idea that "education and knowledge can't be taken away." Before her mother passed away, Almeda spent time each day drinking coffee and visiting with her.

To this day, she puts out a second cup and has written a poem called "Two Cups," to commemorate the lessons she learned from her mother - lessons she is passing on to her daughters, Tawanda and Latasha.

Vance has been writing and publishing poetry for several years and was named "Poet of the Year" in 2005 by Famouspoets.com. Besides her mother, she was influenced by Aaron Neville. She grew up listening to the radio and enjoys all types of music. Vance works as a courier when not writing poetry.

Al Stephens is a local songwriter who has been writing songs for 40 years. He was contacted by Hilltop because of a song called "White Box Truck." The song is an offbeat number that features a mention of Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. "White Box Truck" was recorded for a different compilation of "Proud to be An American," and features Cody Lyons on the vocals.

Stephens plays guitar and harmonica and was influenced by his grandfather, James "Pop" Stephens, who played banjo. He bought his grandson a ukulele early on, but Al wasn't interested in playing until he joined a band in his early teen years.

He was influenced by The Ventures, Elvis, Merle Haggard, and Bob Dylan. Stephens played rhythm guitar for a band a few years back and began writing songs in his 20s. He says the tunes and words come to him in strange ways and since he can't read music, he makes the tune fit guitar chords. A recording of a song called "Catfish Stomp" got some radio play. The song commemorates the Elgin Catfish Stomp.

Stephens already has one song recorded by Hilltop Records; "Those Blues," which was released on an earlier collection a few years back.

HilltopRecords.com is the recording company's website and information on the CDs can be found there. Manifest Records is one of the local companies on the distribution list for anyone interested in purchasing a copy.