An email I received last week informed me that Ryan Tedder–lead singer of the band OneRepublic–is my cousin, a descendant of Captain John Whipple of Providence, RI.
A visit to Ryan’s page in Wikipedia confirmed that relationship.
Here are a few (of very many) notable facts I’ve learned:
- His YouTube video “Counting Stars” has had two billion views!
- He is the grandson of Cornelius Benjamin Watrous and Mary Esther Crandall. Both are “many times over” Whipple descendants.
- Ryan has written and produced songs for the likes of Madonna, U2, Adele, Beyoncé, and many more. (The Wikipedia article lists 19 well-known artists. Visit Wikipedia to see them for yourself.)
- Because several of his songs have made it to the “list of best-selling singles of all time,” Billboard magazine in 2014 named him “The Undercover King of Pop” and featured Ryan on its cover.
- He has received Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The list of Ryan’s achievements goes on and on.
Congratulations to Ryan Tedder. (Where have I been all these years, I wonder? I should have made the connection much sooner!)