Singing a new tune
I recently got an email from my old friend Debra Gussin. “My musical is being staged off-Broadway!” she wrote. When I first met Debra, she was a fiery New Yorker, working as a producer in the fast-paced world of television talk shows. We bonded over our jobs at the Jerry Springer Show in Cincinnati (back before Jerry was JERRY) and kept in touch sporadically after she moved to LA and I came back to St. Louis from New York. Occasionally she’d send updates and gradually I came to see that she was re-inventing herself.
Debra had always loved music, and longed to pursue her passion. As she continued her work in television, she also took small steps toward her dream. First she took a songwriting class with a master lyricist. Later she won scholarships for her writing that allowed her to continue her songwriting studies. She made connections with people like Barry Manilow, Don Grady and Paul Williams, and won awards for her lyrics. Eventually she left the TV business to pursue songwriting full-time. Now, her lyrics are being featured in a musical playing off-Broadway and she’s at work on a collection of pop lyrics with Grady as well as another musical.
Not too shabby for someone who, by her own admission, “didn’t know a thing about writing lyrics” when she got started.
Debra inspires me. She’s an amazing example of how we can re-invent ourselves. There’s no rule that says we have to follow the same course all our lives. Who’s keeping track? We learn and grow, and we find new ways of expressing ourselves in the world. Now that’s worth singing about! 
P.S. Just found out that Debra and Don co-wrote a song called “Reinventing Ourselves” for Don’s soon-to-be-released “Boomer” CD! How cool… listen to it here.
Comments
I, too, used to work in TV with Debra. I’m inspired by her pursuit of her dreams, as well. Thanks for posting!
Debra Gussin has made a huge impact on my life, since the day I met her in college. She is so determined, dedicated and the hardest working person I know. Her insights into people/relationships/feelings are amazing. Her lyrics are so beautiful and truly speak to the soul. I have no doubt she will continue to thrive in the song writing industry. She thrives in just about anything she does.
She is an inspiration. Debra listens to that voice, deep inside and is not afraid to let it guide her. She is true to herself.
Thanks for your post!
I’d like to add my name to the Debra Gussin fan club. She’s an amazing person to work with, even forgetting about her skill as a lyricist. Her belief in herself spills over into the lives of the people she’s involved with…me being one!
Don Grady
To know Debra– is to love Debra.
Her talent has no boundaries — her lyrics are insightful — her friendship so treasured.
Who knew her admiration for Barry Manilow would lead her to the
music biz?
No doubt we will all be saying one day, we knew her when ..
I consider myself very lucky to be currently directing the NY show with Debra’s brilliant lyrics. We met during the original production over three years ago, and the ensuing friendship has brought me much (and it is she I quote) “grace and gladness”.
Debra is one of the splendid beings that brings light to the darkness.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Talking about being inspired, I had been listening to Don Grady’s songs for a while and learned that his co-lyricist was Debra Gussin. I thought the lyrics were done in such a way that she shoud be working on a Broadway musical. I later discovered Debra was already doing just that! Her lyrics/verses are, to me, in my own words, almost mathematically put together. Sounds wierd but that’s how connected and flowing they sound to me. Be sure to check out Don and Debra’s music for the upcoming “Boomer” CD.
Michael Carey Schneider