“It’s Been Good,” a new song by Evanston musician Donovan Mixon captures the angst of a terminally ill parent having to leave a child.
In conjunction with the release of the song, Mr. Mixon is launching a gofundme campaign to help repay what he feels is a dept to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Mr. Mixon’s inspiration was a conversation with his terminally ill wife, who in anticipation of resistance from her Turkish family, expressed in writing her wish that Mr. Mixon raise their son, Ozan, after her death.
Her wish was turned on its head in mid-June 2012, when the family kidnapped 5-year-old Ozan, launching a nation-wide search. The ordeal concluded with a dramatic 2016 police rescue in a resort town in southern Turkey.
Mr. Mixon said, “The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was highly instrumental in the rescue of my son, Ozan. They stayed in regular contact with the Turkish police, applying pressure to all related agencies. They kept in touch with me as well, calling periodically to receive updates and to ask how I was doing.”
His campaign has two missions, he said, “to give hope to other parents searching for their child and to give back to the NCMEC for helping me to find my son.”
The recording is available only by way of donations to his GoFundMe campaign.
Mr. Mixon has obtained permission to us the logo and images from the NCMEC website for his GoFundMe to raise money as a give-back campaign. Proceeds from the “It’s Been Good, Give-Back” campaign will be donated to the National Council for Missing and Exploited Children, a private, non-profit corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization.
He says he is “extremely grateful to NCMEC” for their help and eventual discovery of Ozan. He hopes that his efforts will serve to bring together other parents with their children.
Other musicians who worked on the song are vocalist Sarah Marie Young, pianist Leandro Lopez Varady, bassist Joshua Ramos and drummer percussionist Ernie Adams. Mr. Adams said, “The song is heartfelt. It is grooving and appeals to the jazz musician because of the chords; there are some ten-bar phrases, nine-bar phrases, two-four measures. For me, it’s a complete song. I love it. Regardless of all the technical stuff, the message itself is beautiful.”
Mr. Mixon will send a free mp3 of “It’s Been Good” as a thank you, to all who donate to the cause. More information is available at donmixon.com.