ON "UNTIL THEN": Paul O'Rear (lead and background vocals), Justin O'Rear (background vocals), Jeremy Pate (background vocals, drum programming), Steve Agee (guitars, bass).
ON "DADDY": Paul O'Rear (keyboard, drum programming, lead and background vocals).
Every once in a while, someone comes along who seems to be connected to a bigger reality than those around them. Someone who is larger than life and who perceives life on a much grander scale than most, while being completely unaware of their own specialness. And if you are truly blessed beyond measure, not only do you get to know such a person, you get to be their Daddy. I have been blessed beyond measure.
Ashley Jean ORear spent only fourteen years on this earth, but she crammed more living into those fourteen years than most people experience in seventy or eighty. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at age nine, she fought the cancer monster like a gladiator faces his fiercest opponent. She stared cancer in the face and dared it to steal her life from her. After over a year of grueling treatments (she learned well the meaning of the statement, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease), she walked out of the arena victorious, to the roaring cheers of her admiring fans.
The fierce battle had taken its toll on her fragile little body. Most days were still a struggle, and many routine tasks were now anything but routine. Frustration was a daily experience, and there were very few people who truly understood how much harder she now had to work to accomplish even the little things that most people take for granted. But she didnt feel sorry for herself, and she despised the idea of people taking pity on her. For three years she pursued life relentlessly, wearing proudly the title Survivor.
Then the unthinkable happened. The monster, refusing to be defeated, returned with a vengeance. She once again put up a valiant fight, but this time she was too tired and her opponent was too strong. My Princess went to heaven, and my heart is still broken beyond repair. Her absence hurts so much, because her presence brought so much joy.
Until Then is a song that wrote itself, and then started banging on my heart from the inside, begging to be let out. I simply became the scribe who put the words and the music on paper.
About four months after Ashley died, Susan and Justin and I took a trip from our home in Texas to visit some friends in Tennessee and then spend a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains. Late at night, somewhere between Memphis and Nashville, the idea for Until Then began growing in my mind. The more we drove, the more the idea matured into concrete words that began to organize themselves into verses and a chorus. When I finally realized that a song was taking shape, I asked Susan to find some paper and a pen and start writing down the words. I drove and Susan wrote, and by the time we reached Nashville, Until Then was a song. The next day we went to an electronics store and I bought a microcassette recorder so that I could capture the tune before I lost it.
That was in March of 2002, and ever since then the song has continued to grow and evolve and mature. Many people with incredible talents have stepped in and offered their assistance in turning Ashleys song into a finished product that is ready to be shared with the world. To every single one of those people, I am eternally grateful. The excitement that each of you has invested in this dream has been a huge source of encouragement and blessing. You have helped Ashleys memory and legacy to live on in the words of this humble and simple little song. For that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
