The Music Died 50 Years Ago Today

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson). Here is Buddy Holly and the Crickets playing the Holly classic Peggy Sue on the Arthur Murray Dance Party on December 29, 1957.



Here is the Grateful Dead playing the Holly classic Not Fade Away at the Oakland Coliseum on New Years Eve 1985. Many people under the age of 50 only know Not Fade Away from the Grateful Dead, as you can see it was often a sing-along.




Here are the Rolling Stones playing Not Fade Away in 1964.



Hat Tip: Lin Bremer on WXRT radio.

Sheryl Crow: Artist as Her Own Blonde Joke

Sheryl Crow has had one doozy of a week, first she blogged about the possibility of people using one square of toilet paper per visit (hello Lance?), then she and Laurie David got into a spat with Karl Rove at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Sheryl can also be seen on a billboard ad for a Revlon hair coloring at the Jackson Blvd. stop in the Red line subway here in Chicago. The subway ad and the television ad linked to are for a Revlon product and something called the "Not Fade Away Tour". Okay, it's a catchy play on words for Sheryl and the Revlon product but come on, Buddy Holly and the Crickets did Not Fade Away 50 years ago (next month). The Stones did it over forty years ago and this Wikipedia post states that the Grateful Dead played the song during 530 concerts; now that last factoid is one that I can believe. This self described "angry hippie" from New York City takes a much dimmer view of Ms. Crow's appropriation of Not Fade Away and I will not argue with her.

Sheryl Crow has not asked me for any advice, nor frankly is she likely to ask me for any in the future but what the heck, here goes:

Do not discuss your bathroom habits in public.
Do not talk about politics or religion at parties.
Get new friends.

The first suggestion should be obvious but if the habits happen to be bizarre or unbelievable then you should be doubly reticent about airing them out in public.

The White House Correspondents Dinner falls under the long standing (it predates your mother) rule to avoid politics and religion at parties. You and Ms. Laurie allegedly attempted to discuss religion with a politician.

The third suggestion is related to the first two. You need some friends who can pull you aside to tell you, "honey, cut it with the bathroom crap, you sound like a nut."