el día que murió la música

El 3 de febrero es conocido como "El Día Que Murió La Música", debido a que es esta la fecha en la que murieron tres de los más grandes que ha habido en la historia de la música. Me refiero a Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens y The Big Booper, que murieron cuando su avión se estrelló hace ya más de medio siglo, en 1959.


Mi pequeño homenaje comienza con La Bamba, la canción más famosa de Ritchie Valens. Todos la conocemos, pero la mayoría de las personas no saben quién es su autor.
Valens, nacido en Estados Unidos pero de origen Mexicano, tuvo una carrera musical que, a pesar de la importancia que se le concede a día de hoy y de la influencia que ejerció en grupos posteriores, sólo duró ocho meses. Fue él quien decidió transformar La Bamba (canción popular mexicana) en una canción con ritmo de rock que no tardó en ser un éxito.
A continuación os dejo con este primer vídeo, este primer homenaje del día de hoy...









El siguiente que merece ser homenajeado en el día de hoy es Jiles Perry Richardson, más conocido como The Big Booper.
Chantilly Lace, la canción que comparto hoy con vosotros, es probablemente su tema más conocido y característico.
Este vídeo me parece muy divertido y bueno, creo que a vosotros también os lo parecerá, ya que las actuaciones de The Big Booper no sólo se apoyaban en la música, sino también en la interpretación con los gestos y con el cuerpo. Es un auténtico espectáculo del que debe merecer la pena ser espectador.









Y, por último, hablaré de Buddy Holly, quizá el más recordado de los tres a día de hoy.
Cuando murió todavía no había cumplido los 23 años, pero dejó con nosotros una lista muy larga de canciones que se siguen recordando y que han sido una gran influencia para muchos grupos que han venido después.
He escogido That'll be the day para homenajearle hoy. Me dan escalofríos con tan sólo pensar en la frase que da título a este tema; esa frase que repite durante toda la canción: "That'll be the day when I die"...
Como quien sospecha algo, algo malo. Como quien se anticipa a un hecho. Como quien ve lo que nadie puede ver, lo que nadie quiere ver, y decide cantarlo acompañado de una melodía alegre que hace de este mensaje algo más escalofriante aún.









Pero hay un vídeo más que no puede faltar en un 'post' como el de hoy. No es un vídeo de The Big Booper, ni de Buddy Holly, ni de Ritchie Valens. Es el vídeo de una canción que está dedicada a todos ellos.
Este 'post' no puede acabarse sin que aparezca American Pie, una canción que hemos oído todos, pero demasiado a menudo lo hemos hecho sin preguntarnos su significado. Esta canción habla sobre El Día Que Murió La Música. La compuso Don McLean y se la dedicó a estos tres grandes (todo el disco de American Pie está dedicado en especial a Buddy Holly), e hizo llegar la historia de su muerte a todos, aunque muchos ni siquiera fuesen conscientes de ello. La letra es magnífica y la música hace de esta canción uno de los temas imprescindibles de la historia del rock, un tema que llega sepas o no su significado.
Espero que os guste...









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 old boys were drinkin' whiskey and 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?
Do you believe in rock 'n 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 singin',
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And 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 Lennon read a book of 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 old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And 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 half-time 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 old boys were drinkin' whiskey and 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 old boys were drinkin' whiskey and 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 old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die.
"This'll be the day that I die." 

They were singing,
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die."