Untold Story

The Day the Music Died

In 1992 -- I was driving my car and listening to the radio. It was Tuesday and the FM station was playing double shots. They called it Two for Tuesday. The DJ would play an unknown song from an album to go with a hit song from the same album. When the name of the band was announced, the name caught my attention. Then the announcer stated the group was from Seattle. The band was "Temple of the Dog." The song was called "Pushing Forward Back."

I started laughing to myself and started listening intently to the voice. It was not the voice I was expecting to hear. "Temple of the Dog" could only be the genesis of a musician I had spent time with in 1986. The opening line came out. I associated the opening line with the musician and a name he had in mind for a band.

Mother mother found me on her step / Gracious mother held me to her breast.

I turned up the volume.

I knew without a doubt the song, and the band, was associated with my friend. A fellow traveler through the valley of darkness and the temple of the dog. I stopped my car in the middle of traffic and did a celebration dance on my roof. I had my arms outreached toward the sky. Jimi Hendrix came to mind,

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky."

Traffic was honking and people where giving me the middle finger. A victory dance in celebration. I was thanking "God" for rock and roll dreams coming true. In that moment, I was on top of the world. I couldn’t have gotten any higher. I felt my life was complete. I couldn’t wait to see Andy again. It had been 5 long years. We had made plans to meet up the road. I was dancing more in celebration of making my way to find him again. Just as we had planned - it had been five years.

I couldn’t figure out if he was playing on this song or if they were just friends. Friends he had inspired the name to. "Temple of the Dog" was in one of his songs. I was already making plans to pack my bags and head off to Seattle toward my soul brother in arms. The light brigade of Rock and Love in battle against hate and dark.
I got back into the car and the next song came on. "Say Hello 2 Heaven."

He came from an island / And he died from the street / He hurt so bad like a soul breaking / But he never said nothing to me / So say hello to heaven, heaven, heaven,/ Say hello to heaven, heaven, heaven,

New like a baby / Lost like a prayer / The sky was your playground / But the cold ground was your bed / Poor stargazer / She's got no tears in her eyes / Smooth like whisper / She knows that love heals all wounds with time / Now it seems like too much love / Is never enough, you better seek out / Another road 'cause this one has / Ended abrupt, say hello to heaven .

I pulled my car over to the side of the road and sat there frozen, stunned, and confused. The words were speaking volumes to me. I felt I knew who they were singing a psalm to. It was too much of a coincidence that stargazer was mentioned in the song. I knew Andy was from an island in Washington state. The announcer came on the radio talking about the band and the song. The announcer stated that the band had formed in tribute to a fallen member of another band. When the announcer stated "Mother Love Bone" == I reached for the radio and changed the station. I sat there for awhile totally stunned. I NEVER wanted to hear who it was that had died. I felt I knew in my heart - but my mind was safe. I just had to keep myself from listening to the band "Temple of the Dog," or any other band from Seattle.

Tears formed in my eyes and I cried out again toward the heavens.

"Oh God -- please help me. This is too much for me to bear. You KNOW I need your help here."

That is when I heard a whisper on the wind. "Remember the sunset. I kept my promise to you. Remember the music we shared. Remember my only regret."

I chuckled softly to myself. I remembered the strange happenings around me in March of 1990. A spirit had came to me during that time. We went shopping together and bought music. The spirit conveyed to me a regret it had. I never knew who that spirit was during March of 1990. I was told by this unknown spirit the news was going to kick me in my balls unlike anything in my life.

I felt I had been raised up to the heights of heaven and dropped right on my head. I never wanted to hear any music from Seattle again. Only because I was afraid I would hear the name of the musician who had died. It was one thing for a silent whisper from the wind, it was another thing to hear it confirmed mentally without doubt attached. I could mentally block out the whisper on the wind as a product of my imagination. A hallucination. If the whisper on the wind was his spirit -- then he was still very much alive to me in my heart and within my soul. I wanted to leave it that way. I never wanted anyone to tell me otherwise and confuse my heart felt feelings. He was alive and doing well in heaven. Even his friends thought so. In 1991, -- I started burying all memories I had of Andy, only to protect myself from the pain and that swift kick in the balls I felt coming my way when I did mentally confirm his demise.

A year later - I couldn’t remember much about Andy. I had even changed his name in my mind. I disguised his looks in my mental memory. I knew I had spent time with a guitarist by the name of "Mike" in Galveston Texas. I knew we had made promises to one another. That was it. It was like I wrapped it all up into a box and placed it safely away into a closet.

15 years later - I stumbled onto that box by accident. I opened it up not knowing exactly what I was going to find hidden in it. It explained why I had never listened to "Temple of the Dog" or any other band from Seattle from 1991 on. Friends and family who knew me -- honored my request. They asked why but I wouldn’t explain. After awhile - it became such a habit that I didn’t even know myself why I refused to listen to the Seattle sound. Of course - when I opened the box - I got the swift kick in the groin that was predicted. At the same time - some of the most cherished memories of my life came back to mind again. It was the tonic that pulled me through the kick in the groin.
Music, Music, Music, --- it was all about the music.

Remembering Andy

Untold Story

The Day the Music Died

Remembering Andy