The anniversary has passed but the thoughts linger. And then it occurred to me. So, that's what Don McLean meant. The quick replacement for Buddy Holly on the next night of the tour was Bobby Vee. Now, I was a big fan of Bobby Vee back in the day... way back in the day. But Rubber Ball will never take the place of Peggy Sue. Never. And how do you explain the alleged successor to Buddy Holly through the lyrics to Stayin' In...
I punched my buddy in the nose after lunch
Now I'm in trouble 'cause the dean saw the punch
He was tellin' things that were not true about her
So I let him have it in the cafeteria
Now I'm stayin' in, stayin' in
My, my baby's walkin' home with him
They passed my window hand-in-hand just then
But what can I do? 'cause I'm stayin' in
Really. Bobby Vee. Bobby Rydell. Fabian Forté, etc etc etc. Gene Vincent was in a near-fatal car accident in 1959. Eddie Cochran was killed. Elvis went into the Army in '58 and came out in '60. Between the time in and the infusion of amphetamines, he was a changed, blandified and addled, never to shake his hips quite the same way. I saw and heard the best and lived through the worst. We may not have started the fire but we let it go out... or smolder until a couple brave souls, loud voices and nihilistic futurists had their way with Fender guitars and Vox amps... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Rock is dead, they say,
Long live rock.
Long live rock, I need it every night,
Long live rock, come on and join the line,
Long live rock, be it dead or alive.
Landslide, rocks are falling,
Falling down round our very heads,
We tried but you were yawning,
Look again, rock is dead, rock is dead, rock is dead.
