Writing Nowhere Man got me wondering how much music we’ve lost over the past half century.
Think of all the great musicians who were taken from us too soon. Starting with Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Sam Cooke, the tragic list grew with Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Duane, Stevie Ray, Gaye, Croce and so many more.
Then there was Elvis. Prince and Michael Jackson later on.
And of course, John Lennon.
Imagine all the great music these giants would have created had they not left us. A Beatles reunion? A renaissance for the King? More great blues from the Allmans and Stevie Ray?
It is possible that we had already heard the best those great rockers had to offer and that they would be doomed to playing oldies shows for Boomers on cruise ships had they survived. But as Chazz Palminteri mused in A Bronx Tale, “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent”.
John Lennon’s murder was the starting point for Nowhere Man, which is about a fictional singer who vanished on his way to New York to pay tribute to the former Beatle. Colton Townes was on the verge of stardom and who knows what amazing music was inside him, songs that might never reach our collective ears.
Nowhere Man is available now in eBook and paperback. It’s a must read for anyone who loves classic rock as much as I do.
