Choir should take a bow

Some world records are more impressive than others. An unbroken string of paper clips is one thing, but an unbroken string of 4,000 weekly radio broadcasts is quite another.

It's a feat that merits a bow.

So, take a bow, "Music and the Spoken Word."

This Sunday the Tabernacle Choir will again "raise the sacred strain" for listeners. Only this time, President Bush will offer congratulations, Charles Osgood will narrate a special segment and many souls who have kept the program up and running for more than 75 years will be on hand.

Such longevity is never happenstance, of course. It requires undying commitment from not only those producing and performing the program but a devout loyalty among listeners that is all the more remarkable for being so uncommon these days.

Just as a restaurant earns "return business" with a high quality product, good atmosphere and devoted service, so "Music and the Spoken Word" has been a "spiritual feast" for listeners around the globe for generations. By providing music that serves as a universal language of the heart and a spoken message that is poignant, but never exclusive, the program has found a recipe for success that, surprisingly, few other programs have been willing to follow.

Good times and trying times have abounded. The image of that first announcer climbing on a ladder to speak into a microphone suspended from the ceiling is today set against the image of 50 staffers pumping the program out to 2,000 television and radio stations.

But more than the grand sweep of its reach, the true selling point of the program has been its individual touch. Just as popular composers tell of situations where people have used their music, most every listener to "Music and the Spoken Word" has a story of a time and place when its sacred and soothing sounds have been just the medicine needed at a particular moment.

Our congratulations to all who have shown such staying power in helping "Music and the Spoken Word" reach a milestone.

We hope to offer more from "the crossroads of the West" to celebrate the program's 5,000th broadcast.