Press…

An Interview with Craig Clifford and Jeff Goldman

This is A Personal Touch, a chance to check in with ordinary people making an extraordinary difference in the world. I’m Rebecca Cressman and today we are joined by Jeff Goldman and Craig Clifford, two LDS musicians who are the producers of Man of Honor: Remembering President Hinckley.

Q: Now this is a musical CD and it has a few goals to it. And first off Craig, let us get the idea or understand why you felt it was so important for both you and Jeff to work on creating a CD that honors President Gordon B. Hinckley?

A (Craig): We all felt very moved and touched by the life and the teachings of our Prophet, and our goal was to honor him both in song and in print. And the CD has nineteen tracks with some of his teachings, some of the songs that he loved, some of the songs that he helped write. The CD also comes with a 24 page full color booklet with quotes directly from him that go along with every song—photos, new artists, renderings of him. It really is a keepsake to help us keep his teachings and his legacy alive each and every day.

Q: And of course we are referring to President Gordon B. Hinckley—former President who passed away earlier this year. He was the world leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff, one of the important announcements that President Hinckley made during his tenure leading the LDS Church was the announcement that he would reinstitute something called the Perpetual Education Fund—a way to provide ongoing education and training to those who do not have resources to further their education in the Third World. So the sale of the CD is going toward the Perpetual Education Fund?

A (Jeff): Yes it is. You know when Craig and I first talked about doing this particular project we just didn’t feel appropriate with making money off of this, because we just of course looked to President Hinckley as our past Prophet, and we respect that. So when we first came up with the idea of doing this we wanted to find a way to actually give back to the community, and also to keep his legacy alive. So we thought you know what? Let’s take all the net proceeds from the CD sales and donate those to the Perpetual Education Fund, which of course he established when he was our Prophet. So yeah, we just feel very honored to be able to do that.

Q: And in terms of the Perpetual Education Fund, I have had the chance to kind of travel around the world and have met just a few individuals whose lives have been changed by the Perpetual Education Fund. Craig and Jeff, were you familiar with the program itself when you decided—or did you embrace it because this is something President Hinckley embraced?

A (Jeff): Of course we did know about it, because it was so widely known about in the Church. And when we tried to first find something to actually give this money to that was our first thought was for this Fund. Because it does make such a huge difference in people’s lives, and just blesses so many lives on this planet. You know, we of course knew about it and thought this would be the best way to give back.

Q: And again, this is a fund where individuals can go to the local LDS Church, and propose to further either their technical education or some other vocational training; borrow money, then get that education and then pay that back. Is that correct?

A (Craig): Yeah, exactly. It’s a beautiful program. And it was patterned after the Perpetual Immigration Fund, which actually helped the early Saints over in England, and other locations get the money to actually relocate to the United States with the Saints. And this project would have cost us close to thirty thousand dollars to produce, but what was great is that we would call up musicians, vocalists, songwriters, studios, and say, “This is to honor President Hinckley, and all of the net proceeds are going to the Perpetual Education Fund.” And it was amazing. Obviously everyone loved President Hinckley and wanted to be involved because of that, but it was really amazing to me how many people said, “I love the Perpetual Education Fund. I—yes, yes, I totally want to be a part of this.” And there were a few people that also said they were able to see firsthand how this fund has blessed people’s lives. And it really changes their entire life, because it opens up those—that training and those opportunities that otherwise they would never ever have that opportunity. So it really does change their life, the lives of their family and their posterity. So hopefully it will continue to the next generation as well.

Q: Well it’s interesting as you talked about that as you started to spread the word of your idea about the CD to honor President Hinckley, and what he stood for, you reached out to other musicians who have created or produced music for the Latter-day Saint community. And did you have plenty of music to choose from or how did you identify these 19 songs as those that you would include on the CD? I’ll go to Jeff with this question.

A (Jeff): You know, we first thought about this idea back in January. And immediately we had some songs in mind already to use, but we of course didn’t have enough songs to fill a whole album. So we did contact a lot of people in this area. For example: Janice Kapp Perry and Michael Webb and people like that, who said, “Yes, I would love to help out.” And you know, we actually got nearly 50 submissions in. And of course we couldn’t use all of those, but we did try and find the ones that specifically talked about either his teachings, or a story he told, or his life in general and what he represented. When we had all those songs on the table, and we listened to these songs many, many, many times over, we just felt very inspired with these particular 19. Three or four of these were actually written for the CD specifically, so it was a wonderful experience to actually work with these singer-songwriters and actually watch these songs become created.

Q: So some of these songs had already been created prior to the compilation of the CD? Where others—other musicians I guess Craig, heard about what you were doing and then kind of got to work with the creative process?

A (Craig): Yes. 12 of the 19 tracks have never appeared on any other CD. And we were so lucky to work with both songwriters who we had worked with before that knew people who had responded to our call for entries and said, “Hey, what would you like me to write about?” And we had specific topics and just amazing talent all coming together at the same time. Jeff and I were able to actually physically go into the studio for almost 10 of the tracks. And it was great just to call up a studio and say, “Hey, you’re one of the biggest studios in the LDS music industry, this is what we’re doing. Can we come and record for free?” And everyone just said, “Yes.” And that’s what was so amazing about this project was that it was a very unifying project for the LDS music industry. Where there are different labels, there are independent artists, and it just crossed all of those boundaries, and really felt like a unifying contribution or honoring of President Hinckley, because we all loved him so much. He was loved by all of the Membership, from the youth to the young families to the elderly. He had that special charisma and passion that he shared with every single member. Even if they never physically met him, everyone felt like they knew him and he knew them.

Q: Well you know it’s interesting timing as we talk right now about the CD—the tribute that you’ve put together, because President Gordon B. Hinckley celebrates—or would have celebrated—a very important birthday on June 23rd. And so this CD is available now, I’m assuming to the public, as President Hinckley will be remembered again on that very special day?

A (Craig): Yes, for sure. The easiest way to get the CD is online at yourldsneighborhood.com. Obviously if you’re listening to this, you are familiar with that website. Our distributor is Gaylen Rust, and he has been absolutely amazing. He has donated all of the advertising for this CD and it’s really, really helped us get the word out.

Q: Well I appreciate that because we do have individuals who are living across the United States that have a chance to join us for A Personal Touch. And thank you two for donating your time to create a CD to honor President Gordon B. Hinckley. He would have been 98 years old this June 23rd on 2008. And though he will be missed he will be remembered now because of this CD, Man of Honor: Remembering President Hinckley. Craig, thank you so much. Craig Clifford and Jeff Goldman thank you, both of you for joining us today for A Personal Touch. What a pleasure and an honor it is to meet you.

A (Jeff): Thank you so much for having us. And we just hope everyone out there hears this music and it helps build their testimony of Prophets in general and specifically what President Hinckley meant to them.

Q: Well, thank you…

A: Thank you so much.

We appreciate that. And again thank you, for those who are listening, for joining us for this week’s edition of A Personal Touch. Be sure to check your email next Saturday to find out who else is making a difference in our world with a personal touch.

End of interview.

Personal Touch with Rebecca Cressman Where we bring them to you. Every week Rebecca Cressman posts a new topical and enlightening audio interview with an exemplary individual who stands up for the right principles. Our goal is to celebrate people from diverse careers throughout the world who inspire because of their work, drive, and lifestyles.