The day the music died

Stamattina appena sveglia ho letto la  tragica notizia relativa alla scomparsa dei Viola Beach, una band emergente che assieme al manager è stata vittima di un brutto incidente automobilistico che non ha lasciato nessun superstite. Dopo aver urtato il guardrail, la  vettura dei 5 ragazzi ha fatto un volo di 20 metri per finire la sua corsa in un fiume. Non conoscevo la loro musica ma erano poco più che ventenni e la notizia mi ha lasciato un senso di nausea, il cuore stritolato e quel senso di impotenza che si prova solo in queste dannate circostanze. Ora è da un po' che non scrivevo ma oggi voglio ricordare con loro anche alcuni altri artisti scomparsi...

Nel corso del tempo ci sono state numerose tragedie di questo tipo, me ne vengono in mente almeno altre due, la prima risale al 3 febbraio 1959: un terribile disastro aereo avvenuto nell'Iowa in cui persero la vita alcuni dei nomi più importanti del panorama Rock'n'Roll dell'epoca: Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper e Ritchie Valens. La scena del disastro sembra quella di un film, era una notte buia e tempestosa quando il giovane e inesperto pilota volle comunque decollare nonostante il tempo instabile. I tre artisti impegnati in una tournée nel Midwest avevano appena terminato un'esibizione e la sera dopo sarebbero dovuti esibire nel Nord Dakota. La bufera di neve che investì il velivolo lo fece schiantare poco più in là, in un campo di granturco. Pensate che Ritchie Valens non aveva mai volato in un aereo da turismo e sorteggiò il suo posto con Tommy Allsup tramite il lancio di una monetina. Il tragico incidente fu ricordato in una canzone del 1970 del cantautore Don McLean, intitolata American Pie ritornata in auge negli anni '90 con la cover di Madonna. 

La seconda tragedia che mi viene in mente è quella che colpì la rockband in ascesa Lynyrd Skynyrd il 20 ottobre 1977. Tre giorni dopo l'uscita di Street Survivors la band prese un volo per dirigersi a Baton Rouge, in Louisiana ma a causa di problemi tecnici l'aereo si chiantò in una palude nel Mississippi.

Morirono sul colpo il chitarrista e cantante Steve Gaines, la corista, sua sorella Cassie, il tour manager Dean Kilpatrick, e i due piloti Walter McCreary e William Gray. Il cantante Ronnie Van Zant morì poco dopo. Gli altri membri della band restarono feriti rischiando la paralisi amputazioni e numerose lesioni interne ma per miracolo si salvarono.  

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die


Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died

I started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

We were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

And they were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die