Man with Autism Nominated for Prestigious Songwriting Award

Joe Bigalke playing piano

Joe Bigalke from Minnesota was recently nominated for a songwriting award.

Bigalke, from Red Wing, Minnesota, was nominated by The Nashville Songwriters Association for his song titled, “Friend Above All”. In March Bigalke will be heading to Music City in Nashville, Tennessee to join fellow nominees from across the nation for an event to see if he will be the will take home an award.
He says he has always loved the piano and by age 15 he got into songwriting. His inspiration for his song “Friend Above All” came from the cross on Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Red Wing during a sunset. Bigalke was quoted by WCCO saying, “My song is called ‘Friend Above All,’ because I feel like Jesus really is a friend above all.”

Bigalke has written many songs, of which some have been played on radio stations local to him. This song in particular took a span of eight months to write, and was written with a mentor who writes for singers such as Kelly Clarkson. Bigalke was diagnosed in 2018 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and has found a means to express himself through the keys of a piano. A fellow classmate at the Universal Music Center is featured singing the song and one of his teachers did the production. Additionally, a musician in Los Angeles recorded the violin that can be heard in the song.

His mother Sally Bigalke stated in the interview with WCCO that music has helped him overcome obstacles in his life. She also noted how her son has a wonderful group of people working with him who always encourage him. Sally says she is thrilled to go to the award ceremony with her son in the coming month.

Listen to “Friend Above All” written by Joe Bigalke here on Youtube published by the Universal Music Center.