In many respects one could call John Beltzer the world's most successful songwriter. Every song that he writes is guaranteed to be a real hit not on the popularity charts, but in a child's heart. The reason for this is that every song that Beltzer writes is for a seriously ill child. The songs never fail to make the children smile and to raise their spirits. They also play them over and over. This means more by far to Beltzer than being ranked high on the popularity charts.
Thirty-eight year old Beltzer is the founder and president of Songs of Love, a nonprofit group. This group combines the volunteer efforts of musicians, songwriters, singers, and studio technicians to create unique, happy songs that reflect a child's personality.
Beltzer believes that music is very healing. When an adult listens to a favorite song. it makes him feel good: thus when a little child listens to a song written just for him, the result is very uplifting. Since its founding in 1996, Songs of Love has been responsible for the composition, taping and sending more than 780 songs to children in life-threatening conditions, all for free.
Unmarried with no children of his own, Beltzer had never thought much about writing songs for children. He says that one day while he was walking down the street the idea came to him and he instantly felt that he could make a success of it. He went home and called St Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He told them he wanted to write songs for seriously ill children, and wrote six songs in four days. Upon receiving the songs, the hospital called him with high praise. Soon after that the mother of a little girl with cancer called him to thank him and then the little girl herself did so. At that point he knew that this was his"calling".
As is true with most charitable ventures, Songs of Love is almost always in need of money. To help in this respect, Beltzer has moved back home to live with his retired parents, who also help support his work. His long-term goal is to offer Songs of Love to patients of all ages, including nursing home residents and the mentally ill. Among other efforts to raise money, Beltzer sells CDs and tapes, expecting much bigger sales. Meanwhile, Beltzer himself continues to be the most productive writer in Songs of Love, making sure that all requests for songs written for critically ill children will be met.
