LIGHT OF A
GOLD STAR

This composition was born from  great sacrifice of those who gave all and their families.  John Stea began writing on his own, with Robert “Buddy” Resnik as his mentor and publisher. Resnik asked Stea to write a song about Gold Star moms. Stea recalls how “Light of a Gold Star” came to him.

“I was alone, on call, sitting in my cottage struggling with my song. I couldn't imagine a parent losing a child. I wanted something that would honor a fallen soldier, but how do you do that without glorifying war?  I needed a line, but nothing was coming. It was late at night, and there had been a ferocious storm. At 4 a.m., I get the call. ‘Dr. Stea, you have a patient.' I walk outside and there's a mist. The storm had broken. And then I see stars emerging from the cloud. ‘Golden light falls from a star-spangled sky.' The song started to write itself. I was thinking about loss and pain, and the struggle within ourselves from a loss. That really drove the song.”