Last night, we went to Music at the Mill, a fundraiser for a local private school. 
A lot of people turned out to watch singers in various stages of their careers – some were searching for the spotlight while others were fading from it. Most of them did a great job, and a great time was had by all. Although, the Willis Clan stole the show. If you like Bluegrass and some old Irish tunes, then you need to check them out.
Collin Ray was the headliner. He is someone who I have heard of, but I was not sure what he sang. It turns out that I recognized several of his songs. However, it was a couple of other tunes that sent my mind on one of its meandering journeys.
Collin talked about the influence that Glen Campbell has had on his career and mentioned that he has put together a tribute album. As a sampling, he sang “Galveston“, one of Campbell’s signature tunes. It was a good rendition, although Collin Raye cannot touch Glen Campbell’s guitar skills.
Later in the set, he sang Don McLean’s “American Pie“. Most people, including me, sang along, but my mind also went into another direction. As people sang the chorus, I started connecting trivial dots.
“The day the music died” references the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper. “This’ll be the day that I die” is an homage to Holly’s song “That’ll Be The Day“. To take this thing further down the rabbit hole, Holly was inspired to write that song after watching The Searchers and hearing John Wayne, as Ethan Edwards, say, “That’ll be the day.”
So, listening to Collin Raye sing a song by Don McLean made me think of something that John Wayne said in a movie. However, it did not stop there. That is when I realized that he had just sang a song by Glen Campbell, who starred with John Wayne in True Grit, the movie that won the Duke his Oscar. These days, many critics think that he should have won the Oscar for The Searchers and that the win for True Grit was a lifetime achievement award to make up for it.
As I said, most people were singing, but my mind was meandering.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
That’s one of my favourite things about great music- the way it lets us connect the dots between all kinds of memories and things in our lives. Listening to ‘American Pie’ always leads me to all kinds of well-remembered places.
That’s what music is supposed to do. Great lyrics can take us all kinds of places.
Garry would agree with you; I think True Grit was a really good film and one of the few in which the Duke was kind of lovable. The Shootist was also great performance. Maybe we are all of us right.
True. It may not be an either/or proposition.
And who can blame you? Music can unlock your mind to go wherever it likes.
That’s one of its many powers.
I have a habit of filming a movie in my mind when I hear certain songs. To me, that’s the mark of a good one.