The events of Sept. 11 so affected a former Amarillo man that a song he wrote and recorded will benefit the New York Firefighters Relief Fund. 

Gary Harvey, a guitarist now living in Port Charlotte, Fla., wrote "911" the day after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. 

"I turned on the TV and saw what was happening," said Harvey, who attended both Amarillo and Tascosa high schools in the early 1980s. "I just dropped to my knees and said a prayer. I wrote the song in 45 minutes." 

Harvey said he then called a friend at a recording studio, told him what he had done and asked for some studio time. 

"They graciously donated the time, and I got it done in one take," Harvey said. "It's not very polished and I can do better, but it's a song from the heart." 

He is selling a CD containing the song for $10. Profits from each sale would go directly to the New York Firefighters Relief Fund. 

The journeyman musician began his odyssey in an Amarillo junior high school band, he said. He played in various bands growing up and once hooked up with Andy Chase and Todd Osenbaugh in the Fretmeisters. 

"I played the Caravan every chance I'd get, Boondocks, Funfest, the bars on Amarillo Boulevard, and every Moose and Elks lodge," Harvey said. "Basically, any place that would have me." 

To help pay the bills, Harvey worked at various times at a United supermarket and at Tolzein's Music. It was during a stint at the latter that he met musician Jimmy Collins of Tucumcari, N.M., who would figure in his future. 

Harvey moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute of California. When Collins heard that Harvey had graduated, "He hired me right out of school and moved me to Tucumcari, the halfway spot between Los Angeles and Nashville," he said. 

Collins wrote "I Love Texas" and his band arranged to shoot the video at Amarillo's Midnight Rodeo, which in another incarnation was the United supermarket where Harvey had worked. 

Harvey said he needed a more consistent lifestyle, so for a musician, that meant a move to Las Vegas. Monroe Powell's Platters needed a guitarist for a three-week engagement, "and they kept me for seven years," he said. 

When the band relocated to Florida, Harvey went along, but left in May. He now plays with Jim Morris and Big Bamboo. Harvey said he was about to join the group for a Baltimore engagement when the World Trade Center was attacked and he put his reaction to words and music. 

Harvey said anyone interested in "911" can obtain one through garyharvey.com. 

"Or get in touch with my mom, Zenith Harvey, at Gordon's Jewelers in Westgate Mall, or my dad, Raymond Harvey, at Amarillo Hardware, and they can get in touch with me," Harvey said.