During his stint in professional basketball, MontaEllis was a prolific scorer, once averaging better than 25 points per game. As a high school player, he once tallied 72 points in a single game. But what really made the guard stand out were his fearless, improbable, balletic forays to the hoop. Incredibly creative and hang-in-the-air-ish.
1971 was the year everything changed in the music world, as DonMcLean’s epic composition AmericanPie was to shortly ascend to the summit of the charts. The longest song to achieve #1 Billboard status, it was steeped in symbolism and mysterious goings-on that enlarged the canvas for what was felt to be possible in popular music. Oh, and McLean was a formidable vocalist and performer, to boot.
Others have taken a swing at the iconic piece, most notably Madonna in 2000. This version is surprisingly strong, but lacks the sweep and power of the McLean iterations. The song remains a landmark to this day.
It is fair to say that a major theme in the song is the loss of innocence. It is also fair to say that there would appear to be a lot more going on than just that. And, finally, the tone of the song lends it more of a heroic than tragic quality.
The indomitable RolandKirk was simply an unstoppable force of nature. Being a virtuoso on tenor sax and flute was simply not enough for this man; he was irresistibly compelled in the direction of “more”. He not only invented instruments; he often played several of them simultaneously. Blindness couldn’t stop or slow him, nor could a major stroke. A truly inspirational jazz titan.