Feb 032009
On the 50th Anniversary of this great day in rock, I wonder if this truly were a Rock Nation what holidays we would celebrate. Would today be one of them? Does The Day The Music Died qualify as a reason to have a parade, set off fireworks, or drink green beer?
I postulated recently that John Lennon’s death day coinciding with Jim Morrison’s birthday might be some sort of Circle-of-Rock Day… Though personally I’m not into commemorating death and don’t really think that you can justify lumping Morrison in with Lennon unless it was some discussion about who had the best weed or something.
What say you?
I’m thinking that for the Rock-oliday The Day the Music Died that we treat it as a general Rock Memorial Day, with local rock clubs opening early for morning services and drinking followed by musical parades that pick up on the “rock ‘n roll heaven…you know there’s a hell of a band” theme. I envision a float with Janis, Jimi, Jim, and Otis impersonators, for instance, trading verses on “Like a Rolling Stone.”
A Rock-oliday that you’d need to take a floating holiday to celebrate in the US would be British Invasion Day, celebrated on the day The Beatles first landed in the US. In England this would be a national Rock-oliday. Here, however, roots rockers and rockabilly cats wouldn’t be required to observe this day. They could carry on with their day jobs.
Since it’s like a Rock Memorial Day, we have to gather around the town square and listen to the guy from the VFC (Veterans of Foreign Concerts) read a list of the rockers from our town that have passed on. We can all go down to the VFC after the service for some swell pot luck and those super cheap VFC draft beers.
British Invasion Day should be a floater here, I agree. Canada needs a day, too. Canada should pick a special day that we don’t understand and it should be the day after our biggest Rock Holiday, The Day Elvis Went Number One. We could make that like May 2nd or so. Or whatever day of the week the charts came out back then, so that we would get it on different days. Canada could have Snowbird Day the next day and no one would celebrate it.
My favorite day is still going to be Record Store Day (April 18 this year). We should get the day off, and a stimulus check to buy some new records!
I hear Canada’s planning a KILLER 1-time-only bash on 1/1/12.
Special tribute should be paid to those who died on stage or otherwise in the line of duty. Country Dick Montana, Curtis Mayfield, and the guy from Morphine come to mind.
Canada should change Boxing Day to Rocksing Day.
“I’m thinking that for the Rock-oliday The Day the Music Died that we treat it as a general Rock Memorial Day, with local rock clubs opening early for morning services and drinking followed by musical parades that pick up on the “rock ‘n roll heaven…you know there’s a hell of a band” theme. I envision a float with Janis, Jimi, Jim, and Otis impersonators, for instance, trading verses on “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Rockloween!