In 1992, singer-songwriter Steve Vaus signed a recording contract
with RCA. The resulting CD was called “We Must Take America,” and the
title track instantly struck a chord with Americans starved for
entertainment that spoke to them, touched their hearts and reinforced
their core values.
“We must take American back,” Vaus sang. “Put an end to the gangs and
the drugs in the street and the fact that the bad guys most always go
free. That is wrong. We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed
us and take all our money and send it abroad. We must take America back.
We need prayer in schools and more things made in USA. It’s the least we
can do for the red, white and blue. We must take America back.”
In an age when performers are glorifying cop-killers, drug use and
abuse of women, it’s the kind of music that sends chills down your
spine.
The song began climbing the charts in some markets. Many radio
stations found it was the most requested song in their inventory after
listeners had a chance to hear it. Vaus’ star seemed to be rising.
But was RCA happy about its new artist’s success? Unh-uh. In fact,
after a few complaints from some big-city radio stations about the
patriotic nature of the song, the company decided to pull the CD off the
market.
Thus, Steve Vaus’ entertainment industry career was short-circuited.
But it hardly stopped him. In fact, if anything, it made him more
determined than ever to write and sing from his heart about the
deteriorating state of his nation, the cultural morass, the political
cowardice, the social engineering.
Since 1992, Vaus has recorded three more powerful CDs. And though you
might not be able to find them in your local Tower Records or Wherehouse
store, you can order them direct from one of the most courageous artists
on the planet today. I suggest you do. Vaus has entered the Internet age
with his own Web site.
Now Vaus is free to write and sing what he pleases — without
corporate censorship, without political blacklisting, without industry
vilification. Vaus’ music ranges from rousing anthems like “We Must Take
America Back” and his new one, inspired by our chief executive, “Wrong’s
Not Right,” to the inspiring messages of life and fidelity in “Someone’s
Gonna Die Today” and “If It’s Love.”
These are songs for the whole family — music that bridges
generations. And it’s about time.
I was privileged to meet and be entertained by Steve Vaus at a
speaking engagement earlier this year. After hearing him, I bought every
one of his CDs. I recommend you do the same.
Isn’t it time we stop complaining about the debased pop culture that
has led America down the road of degradation, moral chaos and
unhappiness and start building from the ground up a new one — one we
can proudly share with our children, our neighbors, our friends, our
churches?
There’s a price to pay for doing what Steve Vaus has done. Besides
being gagged by his record company, he’s been targeted by threats and
abused and harassed by the, you guessed it, Internal Revenue Service.
Let’s lift up this cultural hero. It’s time to take a stand, not just
in the voting booths, on the political soapboxes, in the
letters-to-the-editor columns, but behind the cultural barricades —
where the real struggle for our nation’s future is being waged by a
handful of talented, gifted and freedom-loving guerrilla fighters.
“In order to take America back,” says Vaus, “we need to regain
control of her art forms and airwaves. Otherwise the battle is lost
before it has begun.”
I agree. Let’s begin the battle here. What America may need most,
right now, is a righteous troubadour reminding us all of what we have
lost — and how much we have to gain.
How not to think about Syria
Josh Hammer