Tom Goss's new single, “Pride," celebrates the spectrum rainbow of people who make up the LGBTQ community and their stories of hope, perseverance, triumph, and love. “When we think of Pride, we often think of tens of thousands of people marching in a parade, but it's much more than that," he says. “It's the individuals, the love they share, and the moments together that make up the mosaic that is Pride as we know it today. That's what this song is about."
The idea for the song was sparked by a cross-country road trip Tom and his husband took last summer. “We stayed in rural areas, ate sandwiches in our car and kept to ourselves, with one exception," Tom explains. “We stopped off in Reading, Pennsylvania to visit our friend Ben, who had recently lost his partner Rich."
Rich and Ben were cornerstones in their local LGBTQ community, working hard to make Reading a loving, welcoming city for all. Upon Rich's death, the city hosted a memorial service in front of City Hall in his honor. “We had a picnic lunch, talked, cried and visited the cemetery. I got to know more about their love story and was deeply moved," Tom remembers.
Their story inspired Tom to think about other people in small cities and towns across the country who have fought to make being LGBTQ something to be celebrated.
Tom posted on Facebook, asking LGBTQ couples to share their love stories with him. He was inundated with testimonials from all over the world. One told of Jim and Jim who met in Cheyenne, Wyoming, raised a family, and worked tirelessly to protect the rights of LGBTQ students. Tom thought it a beautiful counterpoint to Rich and Ben's story and combined both in his song.
“If it were possible, 'Pride' would have been countless verses long, detailing the story of hundreds of thousands of loving LGBTQ people who have helped to create what we call pride today," Tom continues. “I hope 'Pride' and it's music video encourage people in the community to stop and reflect on how we got to where we are today," Tom says.
Produced by Austin Danson, Tom Goss's “Pride" is available on iTunes, Spotify and all major digital platforms.
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