Joe Linstrum’s “Held Together By A Thread” Named January “Best Song Of The Month”

Joe Linstrum, a folk & country songwriter based in Los Angeles, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month” Contest for January, with his song, “Held Together By a Thread.” Linstrum is a longtime songwriter & musician, who writes and produces songs in his home studio, and he’s making inroads towards getting sync placements.

“Held Together By a Thread” is a graceful, midtempo ballad that has an appealing melody and a heartfelt lyric theme. This recording starts softly with an acoustic guitar and cello, and then gradually builds into a full-band arrangement. There’s a strong, expressive male vocal performance, which conveys the warm emotion of this song. The lyric for “Held Together By a Thread” was inspired by his admiration for his sister, Diane, who has selflessly put other people ahead of her own interests.

Linstrum grew up Greenwich, which is a small town in Ohio. He was one of nine kids, and he learned to play guitar, and later played keyboards and bass. After high school, he began co-writing with a songwriter named Chris Castle, and he graduated from Franklin University (in Columbus, Ohio) where he majored in computer science.

As a young man, Linstrum moved to Nashville, where he signed a music publishing deal. However, when things didn’t work out, he returned home to Ohio and began a successful career as a software engineer.

It was two decades later that Linstrum decided to focus again on his songwriting. In the past two years, he has written and recorded about 30 new songs. Notably, he has established connections with several music libraries, which are now pitching his songs for film & TV placements.

With his song “Held Together By a Thread,” Linstrum explains what inspired him to write it. “I was thinking of my sister, Diane, when I wrote this song. I think she always puts other people first, and her husband, David, is the same way. They want to help others. Their composure is held together, and they have a willingness to go further. It’s a common thread for both of them.”

Currently, Linstrum is writing and recording many songs for sync purposes. He also has another music project—he collaborates with his friend, Jeff Whitaker, and they release music as the group, The Frinj.