"Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams."

Opening Remarks: Dialing Radio Memories

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Featured Article: : Rock On…and Gone

The first month of January the “Grim Reaper” has been quite busy. A number of celebrity deaths occurred. At one point it seemed there was a new one every day.

The losses that impacted me the most were three musicians. David Bowie, Glen Frey and Paul Kantner have all “left the building”. Three musical giants. The news of their deaths brought up memories of their music as well as various personal experiences. I played their music and saw them in concert. The legacy of their art lives on in me.

It’s amazing how music can transport us to times in our lives. Isn’t that true for you? When you hear a song that means a lot to you don’t you recall where you were when you first heard it or when the music became meaningful for you?

David Bowie died on January 10, just two days after his 69th birthday. He had been fighting cancer for a year and a half, although the public was not aware. Bowie realized he had a limited time and despite his terminal disease he worked literally from his death bed to complete a new album that was released on January 8th of this year. Blackstar is his farewell musical gift to us all.

Bowie made some influential music and had a lot of commercial success. A couple of his songs, “Starman” and “Space Oddity”, particularly resonated with me because of my love of space exploration and science fiction.

I saw David Bowie in concert twice and both times were impressive performances. I also saw Glenn Frey perform, both with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, the Eagles, and as a solo artist. Frey passed away a little over a week after David Bowie, on January 18. The complications of ulcerative colitis and pneumonia took its toll, but the magnificent song catalog he was a part of lives on.

Glenn Frey was part of one of the most successful so-called country rock bands ever. The Eagles were huge. They epitomized the Southern California attitude and sound of the 1970’s, but ironically Frey was originally from Detroit and rock n’ roll definitely pumped through his veins.

Just a couple of days ago I got the news that Paul Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, had died. Septic shock brought on multiple organ failure. He was 74. Once again the news of a prominent rocker dying, someone whose music I’d grown up on, hit hard.

Kantner was considered the catalyst of the Airplane, a true psychedelic rock band from San Francisco in the 1960’s. Their music and musical offshoots (Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship) had plenty of oomph to go along with political and social commentary. Plus, Paul Kantner’s love of science fiction was evident in many songs he wrote or collaborated on, especially “Wooden Ships”. That musical and lyrical slant appealed to my sensibilities.

I’ve found myself pulling out CD’s and listening to music from Bowie, Frey and the Eagles, and Kantner with the Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship. It’s only natural. And it says something about our lives. What we do and contribute to life lives on. The artistic contributions of others does make a difference.

I hope there will be a respite from the passing of my musical heroes, at least for a while. My gratitude, however, has been reawakened, for the music in my life. Thanks to all those who rock on…and are gone.

You can read other life story articles here.

Featured Resource: Write Your Memoir First Draft

Closing Information

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Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert