Bill Chinnock |
Bill Chinnock was a musical icon in Maine (and New Jersey). To see a tiny note of his passing in the newspaper that is about Arts and Entertainment for Maine is a sin (see “Sibilance,” March 16). So you aren’t aficionados. Well, you struck a nerve of someone who is.I have been trying to figure out how to tell you what Chinnock meant to people. How he captured a person and it stuck, forever. How to explain about how intensely I loved him without making it seem cheap and unimportant.
Perhaps you could have gone to the memorial service. The celebration of Bill’s life. You would have seen firsthand the effect he had on people. There were many tears in that room. There were also beautiful moments of remembrance. There was song. At the end everyone clapped and sang Bill songs and rejoiced. That room was full of Bill’s spirit.
I had taken a photograph of Bill with me to the service. It was a photo we had taken in 1984 at Evergreen Valley back when Bill played there with Papa John Creach. Bill was looking right at us. Interacting with his fans as he always did. On it I had written: Hit me with a look, shot me through the heart with a glance. Words from one of his songs and so true to point. I wanted to give it to Terry, Bill’s wife. I wanted her to know he meant so much. When I gave it to her, I couldn’t speak, couldn’t seem to express what I wanted to, our eyes locked; I knew she understood.
How do I make you understand? Can you make someone understand a feeling that they never experienced?
A friend said he would need to dig out his Chinnock music for another listen. He was never really a fan. I said, “You’ll never get it; it was about the live experience. That personal interaction with Bill.”
Can others make you understand?
Many people have posted thoughts, stories, and memories of Bill. There are five pages of posts on what is the message board site for Springsteen fans. News of Bill’s death also had a spot on their home page.
people have posted thoughts and memories on the guestbook page of the obituary. (Please take a moment and sign this if you get it.)
Bill’s death is sad. Sadder yet: those who didn’t get to experience the aura of his living!
Fran Stanhope
Raymond
