illuminatedwax

I managed to catch Dick Buckley's final show last Sunday. I was always a huge fan of his presentation, especially being a musician myself. He played his favorite records: the Bob Crosby Band, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. He was his usual self, at one point complaining about how many bands just end a song cold instead of arranging a proper ending. He had some guests on the show (that talked too much in my opinion), and they played an old Schlitz commercial that Dick did back in the 70s, and an old recording of him at a live festival. The last song he played was "C Jam Blues" by Duke Ellington, and Buckley admired Ellington's genius for being able to turn something so simple into a work of brilliance. At the end, he thanked all his listeners for all the wonderful years. He was very reluctant to say goodbye, repeating that he just couldn't do it, until finally he wished us goodbye: "I hate saying goodbye, but... goodbye. Happiness."