Robert M. Marovich Interview (The King of Gospel Music: The Life and Music of Reverend James Cleveland)
Robert M. Marovich is one of the foremost experts on gospel music in America. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gospel Music and his latest project is The King of Gospel Music: The Life and Music of Reverend James Cleveland. It’s a book with a four-CD compilation attached, and serves as a comprehensive overview of the gospel music legend.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
I got to where I am today by taking the long route. I always loved to write and I always loved music, since knee pants. Nevertheless, I grew up in a time when you were supposed to get a button-down job, like a lawyer, accountant, or salesperson. Following your bliss was not an option. So that’s what I did—I spent a quarter-century as a nonprofit advancement professional. It was a great career and it enabled me to practice writing (full disclosure: I’m still a grant writer to make ends meet). But the profession, noble though it is, wasn’t what I wanted my legacy to be. It wasn’t using the research and writing skills I developed in college.
By 2009, I knew I had to make a change. I emptied my savings account (thankfully my wife, an entrepreneur by trade and mindset, is very supportive of risk-taking) to work part-time as a grant writer and pen my first book, A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music (University of Illinois Press, 2015). From there I kept writing. Even when the money wasn’t there, and that was often, I wanted writing to be my legacy.