None of you have lived long enough to have “old memories”. Papa has lived for a fair amount of years. It is interesting that at times something comes up that leads to questioning the reliability of one’s memories. February 3rd is known as the “Day The Music Died.” I first recall hearing that term (Or, perhaps the day rock and roll died.) in the 1960’s. My roommate mentioned it. I wasn’t up on my music knowledge so I had to ask what he was talking about. He explained the tragic airplane accident in a Iowa cornfield that took the lives of famous performers. I especially liked one popular song of Buddy Holly because it reminded me of a John Wayne line in “The Searchers”.
On the anniversary of that 1959 plane crash, “day in history” features proclaim that the music dying day line first came from a 1971 song. That’s impossible because my roommate used the phrase in the 60’s. He was sharp but not so sharp he could predict the future. Now, the logical conclusion is that the phrase was indeed used by fans throughout the 60’s and then used in the 1971 song lyrics. However, there is no mention of that possibility that Papa could find despite quite a bit of searching the internet. Has Papa’s memory in essence been wiped clean? A know it all wag might suggest that Papa’s memory has slipped. In that regard I know that on some past events the memory is there but the specifics could be intertwined. The lesson is to not bet on memories as 100% fact. But, a factual nugget does still rattle around upstairs.
With time on my hands I will now seek out old newspapers/magazines from the 1959-1971 era in search of a popular culture mention of the phrase in use before “American Pie.” You’d think that would be a good chore for tech savy grandkids. That’ll be the day.