Country-music singer Thom Shepherd donates a red guitar to Fisher House Arkansas!! - October 25, 2025

The Little Rock Parrot Head Club, a non-profit, community service organization and Jimmy Buffet fan club, helped raise funds to support this donation.

Thank you Little Rock Parrot Club!!

We are grateful for your support!!

The story of the red guitar:

Shepherd visited a Fisher House in Honolulu in 2017. While there he was asked to perform his hit song “Riding with Private Malone” but didn’t have his guitar with him. 

That experience sparked the idea: “Every Fisher House should have a guitar.” 

He founded the Red Guitar Campaign (now a registered 501(c)(3)) to donate red guitars to Fisher Houses across the U.S. 

By October 2025: 51 guitars have been sponsored and 39 delivered to Fisher Houses in many states. 

Shepherd himself was going through cancer treatment in 2005 and received a red Taylor guitar as a gift. That inspired him to “pay it forward” via this campaign. 

He chose the red color and donated guitars with a small plaque, so that families staying at Fisher Houses have access to music and healing. 

“Music is a special medicine… That guitar helped with my recovery.” — Thom Shepherd 

The Fisher House Foundation builds “comfort homes” where military & Veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is hospitalized. 

Having a guitar in the house provides a creative and therapeutic outlet for families, caregivers and veterans during stressful times.