Russ Taff - I Still Believe: A Memoir of Wreckage, Recovery, and Relentless Love

SIX

GOING SOLO

I feel like we might need to take a little breather from all the heaviness of addiction, sobriety, relapses, treatment centers I know I could use one! Id love to tell you more about the music side of my life because it has been my heart and soul, only second to my family. So, let me back up a little bit to 1981 when I knew a professional change was a-coming.

As the word got around that I was leaving The Imperials, I began to hear a lot of peoples opinions about my decision. Of course, no one had any idea about the inner-workings of the group, or my circumstances. A head honcho at our label, Word Records, came from Waco, Texas to quietly visit me. He didnt want anyone to know we were meeting. He said, You know Russ, no one has left The Imperials and been successful. It felt like he was literally trying to scare me into staying in the group. Obviously, he had a stake in the matterwe were selling a lot of records for them at the time and Priority was just about to release. He didnt dissuade me, but Id be lying if I said he didnt instill a little bit of fear in me. Not only was I was walking away from the biggest group out there, as well as a steady paycheck, but the possibility existed that I could fall on my face and never be heard from again.

This new adventure felt similar to when I left Hot Springs to go work for Jerry SavelleI had no idea what was going to happen. Right as I was leaving the group, Tori and I wrote a song that came out of this place of venturing into the unknown.

This song started as a prayer to help quiet my heart:

BE STILL MY SOUL

Surrounded by the cares of life

Situations rise, they press against my soul

Desperate thoughts have blocked me in

Feels like I may lose control.

A Voice from somewhere inside of me

Brings comfort and fills my heart with courage

And lets me know that everything will be alright

Be still, my soul, and know that He is God

Stand quietly He is the Lord

If God is for me who can be against me?

Be still, my soul, He is the Lord

Be still my soul and know that He is God

(words & music: Russ & Tori Taff)

I still go back to that song when a change is coming. You have to step out in faith even if you cant see solid ground. Like Abraham did when God called him out. He didnt have a clue where he was going. But God told him to move, so he packed up everything and just started moving with no clear destination. I have been asked to do that three times now.

A buzz was starting to build about me leaving. One of my last concerts with The Imperials was a performance at one of fancy balls held for President Ronald Reagans inauguration. Tori and I knew we needed to clear our heads and pray for direction, so as soon as we got back from Washington, D.C. we took a little weekend getaway. Okay, Lord, where do we go from here?

When we got back in town, there were ninety-seven messages on my answering machine from promoters, record companies, and managers, with all kinds of offers and proposals. Talk about overwhelming.

I know this sounds kind of corny, but my honest desire was simply to sing for Jesus and let His spirit move in my concerts so that the audience felt it, were ministered, and encouraged. Thats the highest calling there isnothing better. I understood ministry and music, but these new opportunities would require a level of business acumen that I didn t have.

I got to know Zach Glickman the summer prior at a gathering of Christian artists in Estes Park, Colorado. He was not a member of the Christian faith, but a Jewish man from Baltimore who was a fish out of water in the middle of this CCM industry event. He was there to scope out the scene because he was managing Dion DiMucci (of Dion and the Belmonts), who had recently accepted Jesus and wanted to make a Christian record.

There was a panel discussion session that Tori and I wanted to hear, so we snuck in the back of the room and sat down. Behind a long table at the front sat a row of record label heads and industry execs, and the space in between was crammed with eager, aspiring Christian singers. Most of the questions had to do with how to land a record deal.

The panel experts shared some practical advice, but there was also a lot of, We evaluate each artists ministry, then we pray and ask God if we should sign them or not. From a far corner of the room a Baltimore accent spoke up and said, Excuse me, but isnt the real bottom line whether or not you think an artist has the potential to sell a lot of records? I mean, your jobs depend on whether or not you make money for the record companies. It doesnt seem fair to tell these young people that God tells you who to sign because what if they dont sell and you have to drop them? Did God change His mind? There was a hush that came over the room. I already knew that sometimes when Christians talk business, things like motives and profit margins can get a little over-spiritualized. But this was the first time I had ever heard anybody politely call that out. I turned to Tori and whispered, I want to meet that guy.

I signed my first solo record with Word Records in 1981. It was a very good deal, thanks to Zach. I was so grateful for his willingness to guide me because I had no idea how to approach a record labelthey wouldve eaten me alive. If I had just walked in as a novice saying, I want to sing for Jesus, I could have ended up signing something ridiculous. Zach said, When you sign a record deal, this is whats expected and these are some of the dangers. He laid it all out so clear for me. There was no sneaking around meeting behind other peoples backs or that whole posturing thing that felt so unnecessary to me. Zach helped me do my homework, then he told me, Pray about it, decide where you want to be, and Ill go make the deal.

After six months, Zach said, Im going to invest in you. Ill give you advice and help you with contracts for free, but there will come a time when its so big, you wont be able to handle it by yourself and then well talk about paying me. He knew money was tight and expenses were high. People come to a concert and they see you perform but they dont realize how many people it takes to get you there. I needed a band, a road manager, and transportation. James had left The Imperials with me and became my band leader, helping me put together an incredible group of musicians, but they had to get paid. So, for the first four years of my career Zach did all the work for nothing. But after Walls of Glass came out and we started selling product and the crowds started getting bigger, I brought him on as my business manager and was able to pay him a percentage. We called Zach our Jewish Motherhe was loud, pushy, loyal, and loving. He always told me the truth and he didnt sugar-coat it. Tori and I considered him family. Our business relationship lasted over thirty years until his death in 2015.

It was rough going there at the start. I had all these expenses right off the bat with no product to sell on the record tablethatd be another two years. And The Imperials wouldnt let me sell any of the records we had done together. How I made it work was that I would go out and do concerts, come back home, pay the band, and then go to the bank to get a ninety-day loan. Those first two years were spent borrowing and paying back. It was a juggling act, hoping we could stay afloat.

Michael Omartian was going to produce my first record. He had done the last two Imperials records One More Song For You and Priority . He and I had really clicked. For the previous Imperials records, the producers would find the songs and create the tracks, then wed step off the bus and record the vocals in five days. Then wed be back on the bus. I always felt the frustration of that because I wanted to learn more about creating different sounds, even specific snare or guitar sounds.