Marlin Taylor
I have one or two rather “heavy” items that I want to address, but now, just days before Christmas, is not the time. I, like you … really want to drink in the beauty of the season.
So, I’m going to pick up on something that my friend Danny Jones, Editor of Singing News magazine, did in his column a couple of weeks’ back, titled 10 Things You Might Not Have Known. This may prove to be a somewhat useful exercise, as I’ve been asked where I came from to suddenly appear in such a role in Southern Gospel radio, and with at least a couple of individuals asking very pointedly, “what qualifies you to program enLighten34?” (And, what one asks, many usually think.)
1. Where were you born?
Like Paul Heil, I am a native of Pennsylvania. However, I grew up about 90 minutes east of where he is in Lancaster County … on the north side of Philadelphia in Bucks County, along the Delaware River.
2. What was your first involvement with Southern Gospel music?
To be honest … three years ago when we launched enLighten34. Oh, I had been to a few concerts, heard the Gospel Greats program from time to time over the years and seen and enjoyed any number of Gaither TV broadcasts. Plus, when we’d visit our friends, the Wolfes, it wouldn’t be long before they’d pop in a Homecoming video, of which they had a sizable collection.
3. So, what connected you with running a Southern Gospel station/channel?
When subscriber letters, telephone calls and E-mails finally reached a level where XM management could no longer ignore them, it was decided to try to pacify the demands by including the genre as part of the new XM Radio OnLine Internet service being introduced. Since there were no plans to devote any new dollars to the endeavor, Dan Dixon, who had been producing Stained Glass for his America channel for three years, was “drafted” to take on the project. Since Dan was already carrying a full load of duties, and knowing of my interest in Southern Gospel, he asked that I join him. As I was more able to rearrange my workload, I ended up taking the lead in managing the operations. (Let me say that, while his available time is more limited, Dan Dixon makes a valuable contribution to the creative focus and content of enLighten34.)
4. What did you do previously?
I have been in broadcasting for the better part of the past 50 years (yes, I am older than Bill Gaither but younger than Ben Speer), having been involved with successful radio stations in all four of the Northeast Corridor’s major cities … Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Washington. I was offered the opportunity to join XM Radio in late 2000 to be the Program Director of the 1940s Channel, on “XM Track Number Four” as we like to say. In the summer of 2002, it became apparent that XM needed a channel devoted to Beautiful Music – elevator music as some call it. Since a great deal of my previous success in radio was in programming this genre of music, it was logical that I take on this responsibility as well. Today you’ll find this style of programming on Escape Channel 78. While the bulk of my time for the past two years has been devoted to enLighten34 … the other two still fall under my wing.
5. Regarding college …
In my earlier years, I frequently was asked where I went to learn the skills for doing what I did in programming of radio formats and stations. The only way I could answer these questions was to be honest … as there is no college which teaches these skills – they are a unique gift from God.
6. Still … what qualifies you to program and choose the music played on enLighten34?
Let me say it this way … everything we do in life is colored by our experiences. I have spent the bulk of my life in broadcasting, and have been a student of radio broadcasting since receiving my first radio, a Philco table model unit, over 60 years ago. Add to knowledge and experience, a love for the industry and the musical genre, and being gifted by the Lord with – as one employer called it, “peculiar talents,” (and I have been called peculiar more than once) for sensing what is right in musical selections and formatting or, as has been stated in another way, to “listen and judge with the ears of the masses.” I admit … I am not a musician; I cannot read music, sing or play an instrument. For lack of a better term, I describe myself as a “professional listener.” I don’t necessarily have a lot of other talents, but this appears to be the one the Lord has blessed me with, and has served me well for all these years … for which I rejoice and am most thankful.
7. Favorite hobby during downtime?
While my enLighten34 work is pretty much all-consuming, along with wife Alicia, church and general household chores … my favorite item of a hobby nature is trains and railroading, although there’s little time devoted to them these days.
8. Favorite vacation spot?
The island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands would have to go at the top of my list, although I’ve not been there in several years. England and Scotland also are high on my list. Plus, we did spend a week during each of two recent summers at a resort on a lake in Maine, where I got into kayaking for the first time in my life. It was a peaceful and exhilarating experience and I’m ready to do it again.
9. Most stressful thing about your job?
Having to say “no” to those who beg us to play their “new single” or other recordings when we just don’t feel they are ready for “prime time.” Yet, even with these challenges and all the work that’s involved with the many aspects of the enLighten34 operation … I absolutely love my role as its “shepherd” and consider this to be one of the true highlights of my entire life! The Lord called me to this position and it is to Him I must answer.
10. Since my first day in radio, my goal has been to make a difference and bring joy to the listener.
The listening body must always be the #1 priority! And that will continue to be my motivation until the Lord takes me home.
Now, let’s turn on enLighten34, decorate the tree and rejoice and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Marlin
