I myself have had a great appreciation for music, but I’ve often wondered what it is like to work along with musicians as well as being an accomplished performer or songwriter. I have sang in churches and musicals, and I believe that there is a great feeling of accomplishment and joy that comes from such an activity. I often wonder how the people who perform for a living feel about their jobs. I also wonder how they see music nowadays and the change of it. Their opinion would be interesting considering that they are musicians themselves. My curiosities were recently nourished. I had the privilege of speaking with Julie Gold this past weekend about her life as a musician and the awe-inspiring aspects of the music industry that she has encountered.

Julie Gold is a songwriter from New York who is most known for the song “From a Distance” which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991. It has been played about four million times, from being used in greeting card quotes and has been covered by different musicians. These are a few of the ways that “From a Distance” had become a well-known song. Artists such as Patti Labelle, Patti LuPone, Carol Woods, and Kathie Lee Gifford have recorded with her. Also, some of Gold’s songs were featured in movies. “Thanks to You” was featured in the film “Andre” and “Dream Loud” was featured in the motion picture “Unfaithful.”

Even as a child, she noticed a developing love for music. When she was four years old, she saw the play “My Fair Lady” and saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show as an eight-year-old. This inspired her to take piano lessons when she was eight as well.

As many of us might know, music provides an important outlet for self-expression and generally makes a person feel better. For Gold this is no different. She finds music to be a great way to express herself and she loves creating words to express her feelings. A song she wrote about Philadelphia talks about her experience growing up, and she also enjoyed writing the lyrics to one of her well-known songs “From a Distance.”

“Music is a catharsis for me. It is a way of expressing myself in a different way than language or spoken word,” Gold said.

Although an English major at Temple University, she was involved in music and singing in areas in Philadelphia at the time. This was her primary objective, which she is proud of.

Many people probably wonder about the change in the music industry, including myself. Sometimes I think about why it might be that music might seem to have a catchy beat and melody, but lyrics of different songs speak to a similar topic. I notice how a lot of song lyrics have to do with love, anger or sadness, usually involving another person. Gold notices how music has changed in the sense that as technology advances, the humanistic sense of music depletes. She acknowledges that this is just the reality of the situation, however, it is still disappointing. It is also sad for the musicians who have lost their jobs because music can be made using technology.

She said how the change in the process of making music makes it, “loose its humanity. It’s not the same.”

Julie Gold is also not a fan of the fact that most music writing has changed from “a one person endeavor to a committee.”

With the use of studios and songwriters, producers, and other people who are involved in the music creation process, I notice that it is true that music has become more of a team effort. I have noticed before that certain areas of the country and the world have different music sounds. Different time periods are often associated with different styles of music as well. I have been interested in the changes from the hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s to the shift to the smooth music of disco after the Vietnam War, for example. I think that historical events and the reactions to them create the music of certain time periods.

Julie Gold has picked up on this idea and says how there are certain sounds that match the areas that they come from. She is very much familiar with the sound of music from the Philadelphia area and she thinks that Trenton might be similar to that sound. However, according to Gold, a good musician is timeless. In the present a great musician is still great. It doesn’t matter what year they were influential.

She believes that in order to be a good musician, one must have a pure and honest start. “There has to be a place of honesty of playing an instrument and the quality of words,” she said.

She has encountered some interesting people through her song writing and she has enjoyed working with them. One of her most beloved memories was when she accompanied Nanci Griffith on the piano in Carnegie Hall on June 16, 1988. She was so happy to have her whole family there to see her. She had worked with people who were not from Trenton such as Patti LuPone, and she also worked with people who were from Trenton like Patti Labelle. Although she had met Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, she only worked with Patti Labelle. Julie Gold appreciates The Bluebelles’ music. One of Gold’s favorite albums is “Gonna Take a Miracle” by Laura Nyro, which features The Bluebelles in it. She had met Nyro backstage once.

Gold continues to perform and does so whenever she has the chance. She performed in Flint, Michigan about two weeks ago and performed for the Manhattan Association of Cabarets last Sunday afternoon. She currently writes songs for the Oxford University Press for a series that helps children around the world learn English. She is a very talented musician and she truly enjoys her craft.

Credits go to Julie Gold for her interview and Julie Gold’s website.