Singing Policeman Went Viral in 2020 and Has Now Released Original Christmas Tune

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The last two years have been a whirlwind for a Richmond, Virginia policeman, Mervin Mayo, who became a viral sensation when his church rehearsal of a Marvin Sapp song garnered over a million Facebook views in 2020. The surprise feat also earned him coverage on CNN's Headline News channel and a record deal with Tyscot Records. Earlier this year, he dropped "The Best Friend" which has already amassed a million digital music streams, and now he's heralding an original holiday song, "Christmas Time is Here" (Mervin Mayo / God's Glory / Tyscot).

The music video for the tune features Mayo's wife Michelle as his love interest and it's in rotation on BET's video channels. His robust tenor bounces off a suite of strings, piano, and a soft backing choir. Producer Jeremy James (who's worked with artists ranging from The Clark Sisters to Mali Music) combines the perfect balance of urban condiments with the bells and whistles that usually accompany yuletide tracks. It's a welcome addition to the urban canon of winter melodies such as Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" and The Jackson 5's "Give Love on Christmas Day."

Music has always been a solace for Mayo who was raised by a hard-working mother in Richmond's tough Creighton Court housing projects where murder and crime were everyday events. "When I look back, I grew up in the Wild Wild West, but I didn't know it was," he says. A now-retired police officer, Curtis Simmons, became a role model to Mayo as a teenager and inspired him to avoid street life and to become a policeman, a gig he's held since 2005. "I said if I ever become a police officer, I want to do for others what he did for me," he says.

Throughout his life, Mayo has sung for fun. He grew up singing in church. As an adult he sang with the regional R&B group, CHARM (Cool, Handsome, Attractive, Romantic, Men), and then later with the gospel group, CHANGED. In 2020, he was at his church singing Marvin Sapp's "The Best in Me" and someone posted it on Facebook. In days, the video had gone viral, and the post eventually garnered a million views. A Tyscot Records exec spotted him and signed him up.

Now, Mayo has a larger platform to share his music and to combat the negative images the public has witnessed of law enforcement in recent years due to various high-profile police brutality incidents. "People want to think police are trigger happy," he says. "The last thing a police officer wants to do is shoot somebody because if you shoot somebody, your career is done for ever. That's not what the average policeman wants. They just want to make it home."

Link: https://youtu.be/hQR8fnbVhGk

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SOURCE Mervin Mayo