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In 1960's America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color, blacks, Hispanics, Orientals, were discriminated against in many ways. The 1960's were a turbulent time in America, when racial barriers began to come down due to Supreme Court decisions and due to an increase in the activism of blacks, fighting for equal rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality.

Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was arrested and jailed, King organized a massive march on Washington, DC on August 28, 1963. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

On November 2, 1983, 15 years after Dr. King's death, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law, making the third Monday of January a national holiday celebrating the birth and life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was a young man when Dr. King gave his speech, but I remember it clearly. It's easy for us to look back to those days now that we know the outcome and appreciate the work of Dr. King, but it could not have been easy for him to stand before 250,000 people and tell America about his dream. It is most difficult to express your thoughts and ideas when those ideas oppose the "Status-Quo".

I am certainly not comparing myself to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but I do know how he must have felt. My cause is not on the same scale as changing America, but to me it is just as noble, and I too have a dream that someday Southern Gospel Music will be able to hold its head high and be freed from its current ideology of mediocrity.

I have a dream that someday the various segments of our industry, Radio, Retail, Record Companies, Record Promoters, Booking Agents, Talent Promoters, Magazines, NQC, will actually communicate with one another and be united in forming a plan to move SGM forward.

I have a dream that someday our professional artists will represent SGM, and our amateur artists will have to earn their way to the top.

I have a dream that someday our reporting stations will be only the ones that actually know the difference between good and bad music.

I have a dream that someday our charts will be computerized, will all be computed using the same formula, and will be open to scrutiny by anyone.

I have a dream that someday radio promotion will be used for its intended purpose, promoting good Gospel music via radio, rather than it's current use of conning young artists into using it as an ill-conceived method of advancing their careers.

I have a dream that someday our charts will have a maximum of 40 positions. This one change, if we never ever did anything else, would literally clean up our industry overnight.

I have a dream that someday our artists will be musically literate. In my view, it is inexcusable to be in a music business and not know music.

The Dreamers of Southern Gospel Music 

A dreamer and his dreams are usually the object of ridicule …UNTIL THE DREAM COMES TRUE.

We honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because his dream came true for many Americans, not because he simply dreamed a dream. He could have kept his dream to himself. He could have remained silent when others told him that his dream was making him look silly. He could have looked at reality instead of his dream, and let despair win out instead of hope. But…he didn't…and because of that the world is changed forever.

Compared to the rest of the Universe, the world of SGM is miniscule, but it's the world I live in.  The problems with SGM pale in comparison to the injustices that Dr. King chose to expose and make right. But I am pleasantly surprised to discover a groundswell of support coming from numerous and unexpected places in the world of SGM. Your emails, phone calls, and comments to me at various SGM events seem to be indicating that I am not dreaming alone. Many of you share the same vision I do for SGM.

During the time that Dr. King was at the forefront of the civil rights movement, John F. Kennedy is quoted as saying, "We need men who can dream of things that never were".

Keep dreaming and some day our dreams will come true.

As always, I welcome your comments.

God Bless You,

Nick Bruno
http://www.songgardenmusic.com

Reader Comments

Wow, everytime I read one of Nick's editorials I praise God Grapevine decided to pick up my group! He's brilliant.

As a trained classical musician, I do have concerns about many singers who know very little about music. That's why it's not drawing people in. Many that I've talked to say it's just average, as someone mentioned above. There's nothing special about it. Now, we all know it's special, otherwise we wouldn't all be here right now!

And, being a member of a group that has been in the business, had a song chart, and is tired of the politics that accompanies much of the mainstream SG, it's refreshing to work with a man like Nick who's been there, done that, and wants new groups with potential to have a chance regardless of who they know or how much money they have to make it happen.

Thanks, Nick!

Heather E. Craig
Soprano, Pure Heart Music Ministries

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