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CHAPTER 1
Hey, Buddy
"Your're kidding," I said to the love of my life when she told me of her plan. "Please, tell me you're kidding."
"No, I'm not kidding and you will do this for my mother," replied Arlene with the finality only she is capable of delivering. After thirty-five years of marriage I have a clear understanding of the few battles I can fight and win. This was not one of them. Her plan was set. We were going to drive more than three hundred miles from our home in Bourbonnais, Illinois, to Independence, Iowa to take my 77-year-old mother-in-law and her husband Bob to the "Winter Dance Party" at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
"What is the Winter Dance Party?" I asked.
"I'm not exactly sure. I think it's a Buddy Holly impersonator," Arlene responded, bending down to take the last plate out of the dishwasher. She turned and faced me. "We're going and you will act like you are delighted to be there." She punctuated the word "delighted" with a wide smile.
Mother-in-law jokes aside, I truly love Norma. Norma Wurster Wigant Jackson is an amazing woman in more ways than I will recount on this page. But so often, just when you think you know someone, they throw you for a loop. In all the decades I have known her I have never heard Norma talk about music, and certainly not Rock & Roll. My mother-in-law is a Buddy Holly fan? Get out of town!
I stared at Arlene's broad smile as my mind mulled over what little I knew about Buddy Holly. I knew his name, of course, and that there was a movie about him I hadn't seen. I knew he was a musician. I had a hunch he was dead, killed in a plane crash. In fact, I remembered landing at an airport in Iowa in a private plane many years ago and being told by a kid at the airport that the wreckage of Holly's plane was hidden away in a local hangar. I remember doubting it at the time, not really caring one way or the other. I was not a fan of Holly or Rock & Roll, and I had no intention of becoming one.
"Okay. I'll do it for your mom, but I'm going to hate it."
The following day I arrived at my office to meet with Tim Duggan, a good friend and business associate. "I'm going to see Buddy Holly," I offered in passing as I pulled my laptop from its case.
"Thought he was dead," Tim responded casually without bothering to look up from whatever he was reading on his own computer.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is."
Tim looked up. "Then how are you going to see him?" He seemed confused.
"I'm going to see an impersonator."
"I didn't know you were a fan." Tim said. He lowered his eyes and began reading again. He was already losing interest in the conversation.
"No. Not me. Believe it or not, my mother-in-law is."
That got his attention. Tim looked up again. "How old is she?"
"Seventy-seven."
Tim stared at me for several seconds before replying. "Okay. Well, that makes sense. The day the music died was what? 1959?" He paused again. "So she was ... twenty-six or so when Holly crashed. Of course she would be a fan. Everyone under thirty was a fan."
"Excuse me? The day the music died?" I had no idea what Tim was talking about.
"Get outta here!" Tim answered with a skeptical look on his face. "You know, "American Pie." The day the music died! You know what that means, right?" When it became obvious by the look on my face that I had no idea what he was talking about, Tim appeared dumbfounded. "Please tell me you are not totally dim."
Tim awaited my response, but all I could offer was raised eyebrows and a blank look.
"Come on! The song "American Pie" is about the death of Buddy Holly. Tell me you know that!" Tim demanded with passion in his voice. "Come on!"
"Really? I thought no one knew the meaning of "American Pie" but Don McLean."
"Yeah, I think that's true, but he sings about the plane crash. Remember? 'But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep.' Remember? He couldn't remember if he cried when he read about the widowed bride on the day the music died."
"Yeah, I remember that."
Tim stood up and looked at me. "Gary, he's singing about the news of the plane crash killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper! He's talking about Buddy Holly's young widow — the widowed bride. That's the infamous day the music died."
"His first name is Big and his last name is Bopper?" I asked.
"Stay with me. Focus. I am trying to teach you something," Tim responded. By now he was clearly frustrated.
"Okay, okay, I'm focused."
"You do know about "American Pie," right?" Tim asked.
"Yes, of course. I know the song but I had no idea who the widowed bride was." I paused and thought about it. "So the day the music died is the day these three guys were killed in the plane crash?"
Tim just shook his head in disbelief and let out a deep sigh. "Sometimes I worry about you," he answered, lowering his voice and his eyes as he tried to refocus on his work. A few seconds passed in silence and then Tim looked up at me again. "What planet are you from?"
"I really didn't know he was that popular," I said. Looking back now, that answer must have confirmed to Tim that I grew up on Mars. "Tim — I was born in July of 1954. You said he died in what, 1959? I was still four years old! How would I know Buddy Holly?"
"Okay, well, you are the only person on earth past puberty who doesn't know who Buddy Holly is — or was. Geez, Gary. The guy is a cultural icon for Pete's sake. He helped create a musical movement that changed a generation and the course of music forever."
"Really? Buddy Holly did that?"
Tim closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not talking to you for a while. I need to finish this memo and let your lack of pop cultural awareness sink in."
I am an anomaly and I know it. I grew up in a Rock & Roll music vacuum. At a very young age I joined a drum & bugle corps. My passion for rudimental drumming immersed me in marching music. During my teen years, drum & bugle corps played more jazz and classical pieces, so I became a fan of both genres. I loved Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, and Maynard Ferguson. I joined concert band and jazz band in junior high. We didn't play any Rock music there.
My dad was of the WWII generation and he was not at all a fan of Rock & Roll or what he saw developing culturally in the 1960s. I largely ignored the music of that era. My dad was a Country & Western music fan, so Billy Grammer, Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Ray Price, and George Jones is what was played in our home.
I went on to earn a degree in music education at VanderCook College of Music. Playing Rock & Roll at VanderCook would have been blasphemy during those years, so once again I paid little or no attention to the musical wave that was sweeping the country. I had a brief stint playing drums for the Country star Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys, but my exposure to Rock & Roll was nearly nonexistent. I get why I didn't know much about Buddy Holly, and I also realize I'm quite unusual for my generation.
I explained all this to Tim, who shook his head and sighed again. "Gary, you missed an entire decade of music."
He's right. I loved The Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby," but only because my drum & bugle corps, the Cavaliers, played it. And somehow I had it in my head that all Rock & Roll was created and spread from Liverpool, England ... not Lubbock, Texas.
"Just when you think you know someone ... ," my voice trailed off.
"What do you mean?" Tim asked.
"My mother-in-law. She is the sweetest human being I know. Almost like a Donna Reed or June Cleaver kind of woman. I've never heard her mention Buddy Holly or any other band. I've never known her to listen to music of any kind. I always figured her for a Benny Goodman-Tommy Dorsey type, not a rocker." I paused to think about Norma. "Next thing you know, she'll confess she was dropping acid with Jimmy Hendrix in the sixties."
"Please tell me you didn't just say that!" Tim exclaimed. "You missed that entire era and you don't even understand what you just said or who Jimmy Hendrix was!" Tim laughed. "Don't act like you do. My kids would say you're being a poser, so stop it." Tim turned back to his laptop. "Arlene's mom is hipper than you. That's too funny."
Tim's right. She is hipper than me.
I'm depressed.
CHAPTER 2
Look at me
The day arrived. We drove to Independence, Iowa under dark and overcast skies, the sun refusing to show itself the entire time. It was our typical Illinois to Iowa trip. Each time we approach the Iowa border I hold my nose and make pig sounds, just as I have done for thirty-five years. But once we are halfway across the Interstate 80 Bridge spanning the Mississippi River, Arlene breaks into a rousing version of the Iowa Corn Song, which invariably ends with her screaming "Iowa, Iowa, that's where the tall corn grows!"
Yes I understand how crazy this sounds, but this is the ritual we have repeated over and over for our entire marriage. Thirty miles across the border, as always, we exit the interstate and pull into the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, which bills itself as the world's largest. After walking through the ailes looking at their unusual wares, we climb back into the car for the final leg of the trip to Independence.
We arrived around 4:00 p.m. to find Norma and her husband Bob already dressed and pacing. After exchanging our usual greetings and hugs Arlene and I unpacked.
"Your mom is dressed and ready to go," I observed.
"She's really looking forward to this. This is important to her," Arlene replied while holding a pair of shoes in each hand. Her eyes darted back and forth as she wondered which to wear. "I think she's a little upset that we're late." Early in our marriage Arlene used to ask my advice about what to wear, but she learned quickly I'm not much help in the fashion department.
"We're not late, Arlene." I glanced at my watch. "The concert doesn't start for three and a half hours, and it's only a thirty-minute drive."
"I know, but she is so excited and I'm excited for her." Arlene held up the pair in her left hand. I nodded and she put them on the floor. "You're a musician. This should be fun. Please enjoy this tonight, for my mom."
I reached for Arlene and pulled her close. "Of course I will. I am going to the Winter Dance Party with the two most beautiful women in Iowa."
(I know how to get out of trouble.)
We left Independence an hour later and drove to Waterloo for dinner at Famous Dave's and then made the short drive to the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The people in these parts have always taken their arts very seriously. The facility is beautiful, but what was waiting for me in the lobby when we entered was not what I expected at all. I thought the place would be filled with a younger Rock & Roll crowd brimming with enthusiasm. Instead, I entered to discover that I was the youngster. I'm fifty-five.
When I spotted an event poster I walked over to take a look. Across the top it said "John Mueller's Winter Dance Party" and below were pictures of Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper. Arlene and her mom posed in front for a photo before walking away to mingle with others.
I was studying the poster when a woman about ten years my senior asked, "Aren't you excited? I can't believe this night is finally here. I've been looking forward to this for months!"
"This night?" I asked. I knew what she meant, but I really have no idea why I pretended I didn't.
"Tonight! The Winter Dance Party, of course! I've been counting the days. I was so afraid I was not going to get a ticket, but I'm here and it's like a dream!" The woman looked sixty-something but acted and sounded like a teenager. When I didn't respond with the same youthful enthusiasm, she repeated, "Aren't you excited?"
"Sure ... well ... yes ... I guess." I offered a small shrug. "I'm here."
She laughed. "Not a fan of Buddy Holly or John Mueller's Winter Dance Party?"
"No, I'm not a fan. I'm here with my mother-in-law. We brought her for her birthday. I'm sure I'll find it interesting, though."
"For her birthday? That's nice. Your mother-in-law is a fan?"
"Yes, she is — and to my surprise. I had no idea."
"Wow," she replied, nodding and smiling. "Your mother-in-law is hipper than you!"
Hmm. Déja vu, I thought. I wondered if she knew Tim. "These pictures," I motioned toward the poster. "Are these the original performers or pictures of the impersonators?"
"Oh my," she placed her hand over her mouth and shook her head as if she could not believe I asked the question. "Get in the spirit! There are no impersonators here. We are at the Winter Dance Party! I'm here to see Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper. It's February 1959!" With that, she turned on her heel like a teenager spurned and walked away as if she was afraid I would spoil the magic of the evening.
I thought for a moment about clicking my iPhone and asking Scotty to beam me up. I felt stuck in some sort of time warp.
In her mind she may have understood the reality of time, but in her heart she was there to bring her memories to life. I felt bad. The last thing I wanted to do was dampen her spirit. I was about to walk after her when I spotted Norma and Arlene approaching. Am I killing the magic for my mother-in-law? I needed to get in sync with the spirit of the evening so I asked them to stand next to the Winter Dance Party poster and took a picture.
The doors opened at 7:10 p.m. We walked in and sat down in the twelfth row, slightly to the right of the stage. They were great seats, but something seemed wrong with the set-up. All I could see were the drums, guitars, a double (upright) bass, and a few microphones. Where was all the equipment? I looked all over the stage for the massive racks and towers of speakers usually associated with Rock & Roll, but they were nowhere to be seen. So this is what a 1959 Rock & Roll stage looked like, I thought.
Norma leaned over and said, "They're performing tomorrow night too, and both nights are sold out!" I nodded in reply.
Frankly, the news surprised me. They could fill this theater twice for an event like this? Of course, I knew little about Holly and even less about John Mueller and what he had to offer.
I'm a people watcher. I sat in my seat and observed as many people as possible and realized everyone had one thing in common: they were all smiling and excited. Everyone looked and acted as if they were there for a very special reason, and that reason was in the building and at that moment just a few yards away backstage. I realized again I needed to get with it. The enthusiasm was contagious.
At 7:30 the lights dimmed and a screen lowered on stage. A video presentation began, complete with music and a history of the original Winter Dance Party. I learned more about Buddy Holly during those few minutes than I had learned in a lifetime. All of it was interesting, but nothing about it really grabbed me.
When a picture of Holly sitting on a chest freezer tuning his guitar appeared, Bob, Norma's husband, leaned over to me and said, "That's from the kitchen at the ballroom at Electric Park in Waterloo." When the presentation ended the backstage announcer welcomed us to the Winter Dance Party starring The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly. Several musicians walked out and the audience erupted with wild energy that grew even louder when The Big Bopper took the stage.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Hey Buddy"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Gary W. Moore.
Excerpted by permission of Savas Beatie LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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