Strung Out Episode 32 JOY, HAPPY DEATH & LEGACY: A LOOK AT THE ARTIST DAVE LYON.

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This week's episode is about a friend of mine, the late, great Dave Lyon.  I had the privilege to help produce his last album, called Black Pearl, that was named in honor of his beautiful Creole, Louisiana-born and bred, wife, Evelyn.   Dave passed away on September 19, 2020 from stage four liver cancer.  Unbeknownst to him at the time of the recording and producing, the album work was conducted by all involved with an intensity mainly due to the tour schedule of Switchback.  That intensity really "was being in the moment" and the joy that resulted of that moment was the legacy of bliss that ended up being Dave's posthumous album.   

In many ways, Dave's last few months on this plane set him up for what is known as "A Happy Death."   A happy death is described by the Roman Catholic Church as having "all your spiritual ducks in a row" before checking out.  In other words, being in a state of contentment, joy and bliss.    Coincidentally, in researching this podcast, I came across the book Albert Camus wrote called The Happy Death.  Camus describes the Happy Death in his book (a sort of introspection into his own yearnings) as "will to happiness," the conscious creation of one's happiness, and the need of time (and money) to do so.   One of his characters in the novel, a man who is an invalid and has a great deal of wealth, mourns the fact that he is facing the end of his days by not pursuing Joy/Bliss.   "Only it takes time to be happy. A lot of time. Happiness, too, is a long patience. And in almost every case, we use up our lives making money, when we should be using our money to gain time." 

Four cuts are featured on this podcast from  Black Pearl.  Due to David's illness, much of the final production was done by his friend, Ron Gordon, in Evergreen, Colorado.  Ron had the unenviable task of putting the final touches on the album, while bearing witness to the decline of Dave's health.  What the final result of the album is, is a strong tribute, a fine performance and an album bubbling with optimism.   Enjoy the podcast. 

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