Senior lends voice to charity

by Adam Greenberg assistant a&e editor

It's been a musical life for Kelly Ann Monahan. While Cabrini students spend much of their time taking notes in classes, Monahan, a senior majoring in English/communication, has been busy arranging notes into songs.

At an early age, she was inspired to blaze a musical trail after listening to Patsy Cline's song "Crazy" with her mother. Piano-playing and vocal lessons followed, providing the foundation that would allow her to perform as a church wedding vocalist and as a member of the Pennsylvania 1993 All-State Chorus during her high school years.

Monahan pursued her musical passions at Cabrini through her work with WYBF. She worked as Operations Manager of the college's radio station for two years and also hosted the program "Sound Check Live," a showcase for local talent.

As a songwriter and a performer, Monahan reached a new plateau of success last December when she and her band, Something Real, were the opening act for country artist Vmce Gill at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. Exemplifying the community spirit that Cabrini tries to instill in all students, she is now working to help others through her talents.

Recorded at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, the single "Sleep My Child" was written and performed by Monahan, and all profits from its sale benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

St. Jude Hospital is committed to researching catastrophic diseases in children, to find cures as well as treatment and prevention of such diseases.

Through her dedication, Monahan has been able to obtain airplay for "Sleep My Child" on country station 92.5 WXTU. The song will be in heavy rotation during the sta- photo courtesy of Kelly Monahan tion's "Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon," which will take place at the Franklin Mills Mall on Jan. 29 and 30. The promotion of the song will peak with a live performance by Kelly Monahan and Something Real at the radiothon on Jan. 30.

Kelly Monahan's song, "Sleep My Child," is earning airplay on 92.5 WXTU and is available for purchase at many local stores. All profits from the sing/e's sale benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

The single is available for purchase at local Sam Goody stores, Borders Books and Music in Bryn Mawr and Springfield, Tower Records at the Northeast Shopping Center and all Philadelphia-area St. Jude shops.

Although "Sleep My Child" will be played on a country radio station, Monahan is reluctant to be pigeonholed.

"It's not your typical country song," she said.

Indeed, this sweet lullaby, with its peaceful vocals backed by gentle strings and piano, could sit comfortably between the pop-ballads of artists such as Jewel and Mariah Carey, two artists whom Monahan counts as influences on her own songwriting.

Through the "Country Cares" program, she hopes to expand "Sleep My Child" to a national level in order to continue raising funds for the St. Jude Hospital.

Monahan believes the key to succeeding in the music industry lies in a "culmination of contacts and talent." She said that she plans on recording an EP in the near future and will continue to pursue a career in music following graduation.

Performance Information

KeUy Monahan and her band, Something Real," will be performing at the Franklin Mills Mall, located at 1455 Franklin Mills Circle (follow signs from I-95), during the "Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon" on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m

The performance will take place in the Center Court of the mall, located by the Aqua Entrance.