Sometimes, encounters with celebrities we admire can disappoint us. My friend and colleague Sarah Anderson told me a story about meeting Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones at an autograph-signing event years ago.
“First of all, he's sitting at the table wearing sunglasses,” Sarah told me. “And when you speak to him, he doesn't respond. And when you go around the table to take a pic of him, he doesn't even look up at the camera. just stares at the ground or continues signing things. So I have a nice picture of myself standing next to Chipper Jones, ignoring me.”
But there’s a deeper kind of disappointment that can show up years later. Call it disillusionment. Here’s my celebrity disillusionment story from this week.
I’ve been a massive fan of Amy Grant as long as I can remember. Her music from the ‘70s through the ‘90s was the soundtrack of my life in so many ways, although her music since hasn’t captured my attention nearly as much. I went to see her live the day after my 16th birthday — and that’s when I discovered that her birthday is the day after mine.
I follow Amy on social media, and I’m in the Facebook group that replaced her official fan club. The buzz was high that Amy was releasing a new single this week. Last week, a clip of an instrumental track with an easy, country-folk vibe was promising.
Related: My Desert Island Discs
Then, on release day (Tuesday), I saw the title: “The 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm).” “Uh oh,” I thought. “I’d better check the lyrics.”
When I did, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to the song. Here’s a sampling:
[Verse 2]
I’m shopping for some groceries
Muzak piped in ovеrhead
They only play the mеlody
I hear the words John Lennon said
Asking me to imagine
As I fight this cart with crooked wheels
He’s either bent over laughing
Or spinning in his Strawberry Fields[Chorus]
Where’s the road to Yasgur’s farm
He stares at me with pity and alarm
Says that crowd left here long ago
Scattered all to hell and Harper’s Ferry
On the 6th of January[Bridge]
And we’re driving home and the radio plays
What’s goin’ on? Marvin Gaye
Is it right on red or left on MLK
I look ahead and realize we’ve lost our way
It smacks heavily of, “Okay, Boomer.” To be fair, Amy didn’t write the song, but to refer to Woodstock, which took place when she was 8 years old, is about as sincere as Bryan Adams singing about the “Summer of ’69.”
But why? Was it necessary? You and I know the answer to that question. And the timing of the release on the fifth anniversary of that event wasn’t anything close to an accident.
I remember Amy telling a story years ago about bumping into Charlton Heston at a Hollywood event and remarking that they were the only conservatives in the room. Now, she has turned into another garden-variety Boomer leftist spouting nonsensical talking points and living in the past.
I don’t expect celebrities to agree with me on everything, but I also don’t care for politics to invade my music (even when I agree with the sentiment). I once looked up to Amy Grant as an example and as an artist I could admire — and the music of her heyday will always be special to me — but now I’m just disillusioned with her. And that breaks my heart.
I don’t expect celebrities to agree with me — I just don’t want them hijacking everything I love to make political points. That’s what this piece is really about: losing something that mattered because the culture wars won’t leave it alone. PJ Media VIP is for readers who want thoughtful, unapologetic conservative commentary without Hollywood moralizing or corporate-approved opinions. Join today and get 60% off with the code FIGHT.
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