Rock the World began as a dream – a big dream by a big dreamer. A dream so big as to lay claim to being “America’s Beatles.” So it was, being immersed in the artistic world of my friend and musical brother, Dan Godwin (1954-2007). Dan was a gifted songwriter and a visionary thinker with an unyielding love for mankind. Over the years he assembled several line-ups of the band Rock the World.
But, RTW was envisioned to be more than just a band. It was to be a worldwide presence, a vehicle, a conduit through which to affect global change through music. His music. Our music. Others’ music. It didn’t really matter. He long ago tapped into the truth that music is a balm; a beacon of shining light into the deepest, darkest corners of the human soul; a universal language crossing all barriers – race, gender and geography.
Dan was able to reach in and touch that part of anyone who listened. I was privileged to briefly carry the drums in one of those RTW iterations back in the 80s and was immediately captivated by the depth and breadth of his writings. Not only was he prolific (500+ songs and counting) but his music had that rare combination of deep, succinct and sticky. Most songs only took one listen before you’d catch yourself singing the hook in the shower.
While the 80s combo of RTW didn’t congeal, and we went our separate ways for a while, we reunited in the early 90s and produced (in my, ahem, totally unbiased opinion) some of the best pop, Beatlesque tunes I’d heard, or been part of, in decades.
I have posted some of them here – and there are more to come. There is also much more to this story, so stay tuned and check back for updates…
Music Careers a’ la Carte
