Organist shares how his childhood music lessons led him to a lifelong passion

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Organist shares how his childhood music lessons led him to a lifelong passion For StoryCorps, Lance Jackson speaks with his former music teacher about how her lessons led him to a career as a professional organist. News Organist shares how his childhood music lessons led him to a lifelong passion March 6, 20264:39 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Jey Born Organist shares how his childhood music lessons led him to a lifelong passion Listen &middot; 3:15 3:15 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5734380/nx-s1-9676834" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript For StoryCorps, Lance Jackson speaks with his former music teacher about how her lessons led him to a career as a professional organist. Sponsor Message (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: It's Friday and time for StoryCorps. Lance Jackson desperately wanted to learn to play the organ when he was growing up near Atlanta in the early 1970s. So he convinced his music teacher, Mary Frances Early, to tutor him after school. More than 50 years later, they spoke at StoryCorps.

+ LANCE JACKSON: When I was a child, television soap operas had organ music. (SOUNDBITE OF LANCE JACKSON'S "THE GUIDING LIGHT ORIGINAL THEME") JACKSON: So when most young children would want to be outside playing, I'm watching the soap operas, not for the storylines, but there was organ music all day long. (SOUNDBITE OF LANCE JACKSON'S "THE GUIDING LIGHT ORIGINAL THEME") JACKSON: I just wanted to play so badly. You facilitated that for me. MARY FRANCES EARLY: 'Cause you were zoned in on music. You were the kind of student that inspires teachers. JACKSON: Well, I appreciate that. I remembered when you came over and told my mother that they should get me an organ. So my father arranged for an organ to be delivered. That was the greatest day of my life. EARLY: I was very proud of you. But I was so glad that you didn't stop practicing at school. JACKSON: Well, that was because the time I would spend with you after school was a respite. My father was abusive physically and emotionally. One day, I was so angry. And I remember, with every lick, I stared him in his eye. So the time I would spend with you meant less time I had to be at home. Did you know that? EARLY: I didn't know the specifics, but I knew that you were troubled about something. And playing the organ gave you the peace of mind that you needed at that time. JACKSON: And you will have my everlasting gratitude for that. You know, there were these flashes of kind things from my father, which always confused the hell out of me. How could you be so damn mean most of the time but also do things like getting that organ? As I got older, I figured it meant that he was proud of me. EARLY: Of course he was. He just didn't know how to express it. So he did kind things that let you know that there's a human being inside that body. JACKSON: Yeah. After studying the organ with you, when I turned 13, I was hired by a church. It got me out of my home. And that saved my life. And I thank you. EARLY: You're welcome. JACKSON: You're my very favorite teacher. (SOUNDBITE OF LANCE JACKSON'S "YOU CAN'T BEAT GOD'S GIVING") INSKEEP: Lance Jackson and Mary Frances Early. Their conversation is part of the StoryCorps Brightness in Black Project, archived at the Library of Congress. (SOUNDBITE OF LANCE JACKSON'S "YOU CAN'T BEAT GOD'S GIVING") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();