Faanana Jerome Grey says he will continue performing and making music as long as he can, crediting music with helping him recover after suffering two strokes and inspiring a new collection of songs about Samoa and issues affecting the country.
Fa’anana was invited to participate in this year’s national Independence festivities by his longtime friend, Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, in celebration of Samoa’s restoration of the traditional multi-day Independence festivities.
Speaking at a press conference, Grey recalled suffering two strokes that affected his face and health. He said a Vietnamese doctor told him that while medication could help, music was the key to his recovery.
According to Grey, the doctor compared the brain to a computer and told him that playing music, singing and laughter would help stimulate his recovery. He said the doctor encouraged him to continue playing music and warned him not to stop.
Grey said that about two months later he began singing again and gradually felt music returning. He said he continued following the advice to keep playing and singing.
