John Chaffee Jr

Press Release, Luck Media, 2006
A HOLIDAY CLASSIC IN THE MAKING: THE POIGNANT, BEAUTIFUL SINGLE SOMEONE IS MISSING AT CHRISTMAS OFFERS HOPE AND INSPIRATION TO THOUSANDS WHO ARE GRIEVING OR ARE SEPARATED FROM LOVED ONES AS THE SEASON APPROACHESWritten by Radio and Television Veteran John C. Chaffee And Sung By Anne Cochran (Famed For Her Recordings and Concerts With Pianist Jim Brickman), The Song Was a Top 15 Adult Contemporary Hit in 2005 And Appeared On The Sony Legacy Compilation Coming Home For ChristmasA Portion Of The Proceeds From Someone Is Missing At Christmas Is Earmarked For Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer Organizations, As A Tribute To Chaffees Late Sister Lyn, Who Battled Both DiseasesWith the holidays fast approaching, millions of people throughout the world are preparing for another season filled with the spirit of sharing joy, peace and laughter with loved ones. But for those who have recently lost people in their livesor who are separated from their family members and friends by emotional or physical miles or wars halfway around the worldNovember and December can be a time of great sadness when it hits home that this year, Someone Is Missing At Christmas.
A true holiday classic in the making, Someone Is Missing At Christmas is an emotionally gripping song whose moving melody and touching lyrics offer empathy, hope and inspiration to anyone who is grieving the recent passing of someone close to them or who is separated from a person they love.
Written by Cleveland based songwriter John C. Chaffee, Jr. in 2003 upon the death of his just turned 62-year-old sister Lyna 21 year breast cancer survivor--from ovarian cancer, Someone, featuring the warm and heartfelt vocals of singer Anne Cochran, was an immediate smash in its initial run at radio and retail in 2005.
Hitting the Top 15 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart in December, the song, which was played on over 100 radio stations devoted to an All-Christmas format, spent three weeks alongside seasonal hits by Kenny G, Brian Wilson, Diana Krall, Michael McDonald and Carly Simon and other popular tracks by Michael Buble, Santana and Rob Thomas. The week Someone Is Missing At Christmas peaked at ..11, the top song on the chart was Jim Brickmans Beautiful. Cochran, who has performed live with the popular romantic pianist for years and had an AC hit with him in 1998 called After All These Years, performed Someone live throughout their Christmas tour. She also re-released her own Christmas album This Is The Season with the new track; the album is being released to retail outlets throughout the country, and will also be available online at Amazon.com. Chaffee made the song available for purchase on his website, www.patriciamusic.com, and it also appeared as one of three new cuts on the 15-song compilation Coming Home For Christmas on Sony Legacy. Other artists on the collection included Brickman, Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Lonestar, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John and Michael W. Smith. In honor of Chaffees late sister Lyn, a portion of the proceeds from Someone Is Missing At Christmas is earmarked for breast cancer and ovarian cancer organizations.
When we lose someone or are separated from someone close to us, theres this tremendous burden of sadness no matter what time of year it is, says Chaffee. At Christmas, when families and friends usually gather for what should be a festive occasion, the hole is magnified. This song is meant to say its not wrong or a bad thing to be sad, but truly, when you think about it, your loved one is not gone if you always carry that person in your heart. Thats the hopeful twist that happens towards the end of the song, when Anne sings, wait, someone is touching my heart. Then, truly, Someone is With Me At Christmas.
Im so touched when people tell me that the song I wrote to help comfort my brother and three sisters after Lyn passed away has also comforted them, he adds. Im gratified by the universal way its lyrics have touched so many in their unique circumstances, but in a special way, maybe it also comforts me.
After Lyn had survived her breast cancer for so long, the Chaffees were stunned when she passed away just a month after receiving her diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and two days past her birthday. The song came to Chaffee, who launched his nearly 40 year career in radio and TV (working his way up to President of the Cleveland based Malrite Communications) as a copywriter, in a reflective moment of inspiration.
He had started working on demos of other songs earlier in 2003 with local record producer Randy Harper, a onetime keyboardist for Ricky Skaggs. The two worked on more material until August of 2004, when Harpers wife Hilary lost her own four- year battle with breast cancer at age 40. Her death proved to be an ironic catalyst for Chaffee and Harper, who realized that Someone Is Missing At Christmas was too powerful to keep among family and friends. Working completely independently, they came up with a game plan to get the song to others dealing with loss or separation, a subject particularly relevant during wartime.
They sent their demo to Cochran, who had previously worked with Harper, and she immediately agreed to cut it. Chaffee created the cover art and found a manufacturing plant in Clearwater, Florida, which pressed an initial run of several thousand copies. He then sent out, in advance of the CD itself, a beautiful 5x 8 promotional postcard to over 3,000 hand-selected radio stations (AC, Christian and Smooth Jazz) nationwide. Its tagline read: Will you be with the ones you love this Christmas? Or will someone be missing?
Chaffee also took out full page ads in Radio & Records and sold over 1,000 copies at the Borders Stores in the Cleveland area. His friend Mike McVay, one of the nations leading broadcast industry consultants, helped secure the deal for Sony to release the song on its holiday compilation.
Doing all I can to ensure that more people will hear Someone Is Missing At Christmas is really a labor of love for me, and it helps raise money for a cause that is obviously meaningful to me in light of what happened to my sister, says Chaffee, who is currently working on more material and getting feedback from notable Nashville songwriters. On a deeper level, I think the song reflects what Ive always believed, that the good things you do in this life will live on in the hearts of those you touch long after youre gone in the physical sense. As we make our way in this world, we must truly do everything we can to love people fully and help others in any way we canat Christmastime and throughout the rest of the year.