Sound advice: Be happy being yourself
At one time in my life, I thought it would have been great to be John Lennon, founder of the Beatles, with all the fame, fortune and adoration associated with being a living rock’n’roll legend. Heck, I’d have settled to be the fifth Beatle (although some bestowed that unofficial title on keyboardist Billy Preston). When I first heard Boston’s “More Than a Feeling,” on the radio in 1976, two things happened: I rushed out to buy the album (no CDs in those days) and I thought how wonderful it would be to have the voice of lead singer Brad Delp. To my way of thinking, he was living the American dream and certainly had none of the problems confronting a high-schooler like me.
A few years later, in the early 1980s, what young man wouldn’t have wanted to trade places with Eddie Van Halen, guitarist for the group Van Halen? Eddie was at the top of his game, married to actress Valerie Bertinelli, who’d portrayed daughter Barbara Jean Cooper on CBS televisions, “One Day at a Time.” In fact, she was probably more well known than he was, initially, because in those days television mostly consisted of the offerings of three major networks – CBS, NBC and ABC – plus whatever was on the Public Broadcasting System.
With the advent of MTV, the music video network, you got to see Eddie Van Halen and other rock stars living it up. Remember him playing synthesizer/keyboards on the 1984 hit song, “Jump”? Who wouldn’t have wanted to be Eddie Van Halen or lead singer David Lee Roth, just for a day?
Lennon. Delp. Van Halen. Three guys who appeared to have it all, at a time when I thought I had little – or nothing. Three guys whom I envied, because I thought they had all the success in the world. Surely, they were happier than mere mortals like me.
Passage of time and unfolding events has changed that perspective. Lennon was the first to fall, gunned down in December 1980 by a deranged fan named Mark David Chapman. He was 40. When I was 41, I remember thinking, “I’m already older than John Lennon. I wonder how many of his millions of dollars he’d have given to get another year?”
Lennon’s death shocked me, along with other fans, because it showed that fate played no favorites in terms of fame or greatness. One of the biggest talents in music history was erased by someone with a warped mind and a .38-caliber handgun.
Delp was another tragedy. The man with the unique and powerful singing voice committed suicide last year by carbon monoxide poisoning, at age 55. He’d been depressed, even while preparing for a summer tour with Boston alums Tom Scholtz and Barry Goudreau. He was also planning to marry. When I heard the news of his death, I no longer wanted to be like Brad Delp, nor did I envy him.
Eddie Van Halen came back into my mind after I read a recent story about a new Van Halen tour. He’s 53 now, has had hip replacement surgery, has battled oral cancer and is no longer married to Bertinelli. His squabbles with bandmates Roth and former lead singer Sammy Hagar are part of the Van Halen story.
Like the Beatles, Van Halen the band disintegrated from within, its members sick and tired of dealing with each other. All the money, fame and fortune apparently didn’t buy any of them the type of personal or professional happiness I once thought went hand-in-hand with album sales and glitzy music videos.
Having lived through the Beatles’ popularity, I once theorized that if they could break up at a time when they were literally on top of the world, anything in life would be possible. I mean, who walks away from the pinnacle of success once you’ve arrived at that destination?
Time has changed how I view such things. No part of me any longer wishes to be like anyone else, including rock stars and professional athletes. They’ve got their own sets of problems and issues, and money hasn’t kept them from evading the same pitfalls as the rest of us.
Be happy being you.
Paul Sunyak is editorial page editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached at 724-439-7577 or at psunyak@heraldstandard.com.