After disaster struck, Kirk Whalum stepped in for an astronaut
Joy McNair, left, daughter, Reginald McNair, son, and Cheryl McNair, wife, embrace under a statue of Lake City, S.C. astronaut Ron McNair at Ron McNair Memorial Park in Lake City, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. McNair died Jan. 28, 1986, along with six other astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. (Heidi Heilbrunn/AP Photo Morning News file)
Kirk Whalum has played “Last Rendez-Vous (Ron’s Piece)” on his soprano saxophone twice, once before 1.3 million people in Houston and again before another 800,000 people in Lyon, France.
He’s never played it since.
“I wouldn’t touch it. I just feel like it was for a specific time and purpose,” said Whalum, the Memphis-born jazz saxophonist who has won one Grammy Award and been nominated for 11 more. “It was sacred and remains sacred in my mind. It’s not something that should be reproduced even if you could. You can play the notes; they just wouldn’t have the same meaning.”
The Challenger disaster
Thirty-nine years ago, on the bright, brutally cold morning of Jan. 28, 1986, Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe and Ron McNair were all killed after the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds following takeoff.
The tragedy has never really left the American consciousness, particularly since it was followed almost exactly 17 years later when the Columbia space shuttle disintegrated upon reentry on Feb. 1, 2003, killing another seven astronauts.
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Kirk Whalum Challenger NASA saxophone Ron McNair Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Jody Callahan
Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.
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