Paul Bailey would do for United Way what stars did for Ethiopia


In 1985 “We Are the World” was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The effort brought in more than $63 million.

With that in mind, Paul Bailey of West Milford decided that the United Way of Passaic County needed a song and a video. It was a perfect fit. Bailey, a United Way board member, started to play the organ at age 5 and has been involved in performing, songwriting and recording since high school. He followed the formula that made “We Are the World” a financial, artistic and popular success story.

Among the organization’s objectives is to fight hunger close to home in Passaic County. And like “We Are the World,” the song and accompanying video will be used as a fundraising tool.

Yvonne Zuidema, president and CEO of the United Way, says she has used video as a fundraising tool before, and the reaction to the powerful message has been positive. In 2007 she hopes to top the $1.6 million raised last year. That was down from the $1.8 million raised in 2006. The needs in Passaic County are growing, she says.

Bailey, 53, says he writes 1960s- and 1970s-style music and is strongly influenced by such diverse artists as rock singer Bob Seger, the British rock group Pink Floyd, New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen and the music played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, which he calls “baby boomer rock.”

“We had the passion then but no money. We have the same passion now and the money,” he says, referring to the idealistic flower children who championed peace and love and protested the Vietnam conflict at Woodstock.

“I’ve always spoken about altruism and social responsibility. It’s hard to be a musician and not be socially conscious. We want to and we’re going to change the world like it or not.”

Creative ideas typically pop into his mind during the early morning. The lyrics for the United Way song cropped up at 3 a.m.

“I grabbed a piece of paper and basically wrote in the dark,” he says of the crumpled paper he saved. The various charities supported by the United Way all sent pictures to him electronically. All of the artistic and technical support was donated. The title of the song, “Together We Matter,” is United Way’s motto.

Bailey’s musical contribution stems from a life that has always been filled with song.

He grew up on Long Island with a mother who was played opera recordings. His father played the organ. Bailey started on the organ with his father at age 5 and began lessons three years later. By high school he was part of a band and earning money.

“Music has carried me through everything. I have little respect for people who don’t respect music,” he says.

After attending a technical school, he found a job at a recording studio and taught himself electronics. He signed a performing contract with Atlantic Records in 1978 and his technical design and support company, TechSource, employed a staff of 25 at the height of its success in the late 1990s.

Music even figured into the purchase of the 1867 Victorian farmhouse in West Milford that he shares with his wife, Eileen, and their son Morgan. When he first looked at the four-gabled house in 1995, the owner had left a 1936 Hammond organ, similar to the instrument he had played as a child.

Prophetic cookie

“It was the only piece of furniture in the house. The organ was sold with the rest of the furniture but was never picked up. A few days later, Bailey read a note in a fortune cookie. It said, “You will be in a wonderful new house by the New Year.” He saved the fortune.

To Bailey, those were signs the house was meant to belong to his family. The owner had a different idea. He wanted to sell the 3.7-acre lot to a nearby church.

The asking price was $289,900, far more than Bailey thought he could afford, until he learned that a second home on the property brings in rental money each month. He sold his tiny Ringwood home and was able to buy the house for $290,000. As part of the deal, he acquired the organ.

The family moved into the home in March 1996 and Bailey started the ongoing restoration.

The adjacent carriage house now serves as his office, which features wide barn paneling and oak plank floors, and houses the organ. The large, traditional fieldstone fireplace is in contrast to the chrome and glass contemporary desk stacked with CDs, DVDs, papers and files. The upstairs loft holds recording and electronic equipment used for his dozens of songwriting projects. This is the studio where “Together We Matter” was created and recorded.

Yvonne Zuidema, the United Way president, says financial assistance calls to the 211 help hotline numbered 1,264 in 2006. In the first six months of 2007, there were 659 calls for monetary help.

In 2006, there were 604 callers asking for mental health help. That number has climbed to 575 during the first half of this year.

In total about 400 calls for assistance come in every month and are answered by operators at the call center in Parsippany.

In addition, United Way is still offering help to about 50 families who suffered as a result of the April nor’easter.

Reach Diane Haines at 973-569-7046 or [email protected].

Lyrics to ‘Together We Matter’

—-

Copyright 2007 by Paul Bailey, used by permission.

If we did nothing

Would the hungry get to eat

Who’d put shoes upon their feet

… If we did nothing

Would a child learn to read

Who would help the ones who need

… If we did nothing

If we did nothing

Would a family get a chance

Who would change their circumstance

If we did nothing

Would those in need begin to see

Who would show them what could be

… If we did nothing

Together side by side it’s you and me

With our eyes on what could be

Endless possibilities

In our hands we hold the key

We make a difference in our world

In the face of every boy and girl

It’s thanks to you my friend

‘Cause together we matter

If we did nothing

If we turned and walked away

Could we find the word to say

… That we did nothing

If we did nothing

And our time came to an end

It’s too late to make amends

… If we did nothing

——–
Source: NorthJersey.com


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