On this episode of AOS, Dan Modlin is out with a powerful song about the importance of organ donation.
Modlin has always been a storyteller. The Indiana native and Bowling Green, Kentucky resident was the news director for WKU for 23 years. He retired from public radio in 2013 to pursue his songwriting career full-time.
Modlin joined host, long-time friend and public radio news colleague Doug Doyle on the WBGO Journal to talk about his latest single "Sara Gets a Second Chance", which tells the story of a young girl waiting for an organ transplant.
Modlin has gained such a repetition as a songwriter that a couple recently approached him and asked if he could write a song that would help create more awareness about organ donation. As a former public radio veteran, Modlin had written many stories about such emotional topics, but coming up with lyrics and would be extremely challenging. "Sara Gets a Second Chance" is already making a difference.
"A little bit of airplay and I've also had some interest from organ donation organizations around the country which is real exciting. Some of them have expressed interest in putting it on their website and helping get the word out about this song. We're all in favor of that. More than anything, I was a little surprised when I went back and checked in to this that there are still many people who are waiting for organ donations who die everyday in the United States. We've done a very good job across the country in getting people to register as organ donors through driver's license branches and activities like that but there are still millions of people who are not on the registry as donors that could be. Everyday there are kids like the 'Sara' portrayed in the song who are waiting for help."
The singer-songwriter, musician has become a favorite performer at the famed Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. Modlin's unique music career began in the 1970's when he and fellow songwriter Dave Scott formed the country rock and Americana duo Modlin and Scott. Their album "The Train Don't Stop Here Anymore", released in 1976 on the late Moe Whittemore's 700 West Label, has experienced a major resurgence around the world.
You can hear the entire interview with Dan Modlin here.
