Their story began when the two met in a drag queen karaoke bar, progressed when they wed, and grew into chapters at the birth of their first daughter Maddie. She was born four years ago, more than 11 weeks premature, ending a very rocky pregnancy and beginning an extensive acquaintance with their neonatal intensive care unit. As their first child, she was the one that introduced Mike and Heather not only to the life-changing, soul-expanding, heart-wrenching experience that is parenthood, but also to the difficulties of raising a child born with immature lungs, and the gut-deep grief of loss when she died at 16 months of age from a severe respiratory infection.

While Heather had blogged before, her involvement in social media deepened greatly as she chronicled the travails of their experience and began following the blogs of other parents of prematurely-born children. What had once been something she considered a “time-waster” developed into a means of getting the word out about organizations who help parents like themselves, and work to prevent more premature births, namely the March of Dimes. It was that organization that first congratulated Mike and Heather on Maddie’s birth, when everyone else was afraid to for fear of her death, and who helped educate them along the way.

And it was that spirit of celebration and education that pushed Heather and Mike to eventually start their own nonprofit, Friends of Maddie. Their work is to help other parents who’ve been thrust unwittingly into NICU life by 1) providing NICU Family Support Packs to the nursing staff of Level III NICU’s across the country which will be distributed, at their discretion, to families of children being admitted to the NICU for long term care, 2) assisting in finding temporary lodging for families who live beyond commuting distance of the NICU that is treating their child, and 3) creating a network of former NICU families who are willing to provide counseling and more to families currently in the NICU.

Each purchase of the You Are The One song goes towards Friends of Maddie’s three-pronged mission. While that song initially expressed Mike’s love for Heather, it “took on a whole new meaning after Maddie passed away,” says Heather. Each time someone buys and downloads the song, it is a continuation of the Spohr story, one that developed over an unforeseen twist but which grows, even as Heather and Mike raise their second daughter Annie, directly along a positive plotline.

The song is available for purchase through iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Medianet, eMusic, Zune, Rhapsody,  I Heart Radio,
VerveLife, Nokia, and Napster. Read this post to get specific links to the service of your choice. The song is 99 cents and 100% of the proceeds go to Friends of Maddie.

How has music gotten you through a difficult time? What songs do you like to listen to in order to lift your spirits?

Lots of people dream of writing the Great American Novel. When I first heard demos of Diane Birch’s songs, I realized she had the potential to record the Great American Album—and I signed her immediately. There was something simultaneously intimate and epic about Diane’s songs; something completely fresh and contemporary, yet utterly timeless. These songs mined so many of the richest veins of America’s popular musical heritage: from New Orleans R&B to Brooklyn doowop; from the Brill Building to 70’s Southern California singer-songwriters; from southern gospel to Philly soul; from the Velvet Underground to the Carpenters.

And so we set out to construct an album that would be worthy of such ambitious architecture, that would bring these songs to life in the manner they so richly deserved. Diane, co-producer Mike Mangini and I headed down to New Orleans and did some sessions with the great George Porter Jr. of the Meters on bass and the mind-blowing Stanton Moore on drums and percussion. That clanky rhythmic sound you hear on “Valentino”? That’s Stanton banging his drumsticks against a metal police barrier we dragged in from Piety Street. Back in New York, we enlisted the Patti Smith Group’s legendary guitarist Lenny Kaye, whose playing skills are rivaled only by his encyclopedic knowledge of  all things pop, and  bassist Adam Blackstone of the Roots, who brought on the funk. Miami soul queen Betty Wright was enlisted to produce Diane’s vocals, reuniting Mike, Betty and I as producers on our first album together since the first two Joss Stone albums.

Having laid down the foundation, we added glorious touches, such as the great tenor background vocals of Eugene Pitt, of the long-ago doowop group the Jive Five, and falsetto master Michael Longoria, who played the Frankie Valli role in Jersey Boys. We recorded a string quartet led by former Klezmatics violinist Alicia Svigals; and for horns, we brought in our old friend Tom “Bones” Malone, who showed up with Lenny Pickett and several other great players, alternately channeling the grit of southern soul and the sophistication of Bacharach-esque pop. For good measure, we even threw in a 30-piece orchestra on a couple of songs. And—why not?—a gospel choir.

But at the heart of it all were Diane’s brilliant songs, her incredible lead and background vocals and her virtuouso keyboard skills. She played everything from piano to Rhodes to Farfisa, and even played guitar on a song called “Forgiveness.” Among such esteemed company as her storied sidemen, it’s Diane who commands your attention for every moment of “Bible Belt”—an album title that reflects the intellectual struggles and theological evolution experienced by this daughter of a traveling preacher.

The “Bible Belt” album to me also functions on another level: As a love letter to the very idea of the record album itself—a form that has become, in recent years, an endangered species. And yet, that’s how Bible Belt is intended to be heard: Straight through, as an album with a beginning, middle and end. We hope that’s how we hope you’ll listen to it.

Regarding the Discover & Donate campaign, we put this together for several reasons.  We wanted to offer something special to the people who committed to discover Diane’s music early on.  But rather than doing something typical, we thought it would be nice to make a widget to help people easily spread the word about Diane’s music via their blogs or social network pages and have an added incentive to give a little something back.  That’s why for anyone who makes purchase through the Discover & Donate widget, we’ll donate $1 to that charity.

Diane spent part of her life growing up in Zimbabwe and was drawn to support SOS Children’s charity.  With so many issues in our world today, we thought that adding other additional charity involvement would allow those who want to spread the word, be able to promote a cause they also feel strongly about, too.  We know that it’s just a small sampling of all the many great causes but hopefully, there’s something relatable to most people in the charitable choices.

Just $6.99 for 13 spectacular songs, and an opportunity to help a good cause while you’re at it. I’d call that a win-win.

Steve Greenberg is Founder and CEO of NY-based S-Curve Records as well as Chairman of social media platform Nabbr.  Having held many posts throughout his music career, including President of Columbia Records, Steve’s achievements include producing Joss Stone’s first two platinum albums, discovering teen sensation Hanson and wing a Grammy Award in 2001 for “Best Dance Recording” for the mega-hit “Who Let The Dogs Out”

Steve is currently promoting his latest musical talent, soul-stirring songstress Diane Birch whose debut album Bible Belt he produced.

Giveaway Prizes

Three winners will be randomly selected to win one of these prizes:

• Grand Prize: iPhone 8GB, 2 Diane Birch concert tickets, an autographed Diane Birch CD
• First Place Prize: $50 iTunes gift card and autographed Diane Birch CD
• Second Place Prize: Autographed Diane Birch CD

Entry Requirements

To enter to win, you are required to do the following two things and leave a comment on this post by Monday, June 8 at midnight EDT, including a link to your blog or social networking site, your e-mail address, and information about your extra entries, if applicable:

1. Write a post on your blog or social networking site about the concept behind the Discover and Donate widget.
2. Post the Discover and Donate widget on your blog or social networking site.

To receive extra entries (for a total of three extra entries):

• Tweet about this giveaway, including this link: http://www.dianebirch.com/charity/index.php.
• Click here to join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
• Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall, including this link: http://www.dianebirch.com/charity/index.php.

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter this giveaway. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Family members of Diane Birch, S-Curve Records employees, One2One Network, and the Mom It Forward team are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Monday, June 8 at midnight EDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.