“A long long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile”

— Don McLean

Song lyrics, American Pie (1971), American Pie
Context: A long long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The Day the Music Died.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Don McLean 20

American Singer and songwriter 1945

Maurice Jarre (1924–2009) French composer

This quote was actually crafted by University College Dublin student Shane Fitzgerald. Shortly after Jarre's death, Fitzgerald uploaded https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maurice_Jarre&type=revision&diff=280558491&oldid=280527998 the false quote to Wikipedia to test "how our globalised, increasingly internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news," according to the Associated Press. "The sociology major's made-up quote…flew straight on to dozens of US blogs and newspaper websites in Britain, Australia and India. They used the fabricated material, Fitzgerald said, even though administrators at the free online encyclopedia quickly caught the quote's lack of attribution and removed it, but not quickly enough to keep some journalists from cutting and pasting it first. A full month went by and nobody noticed the editorial fraud. So Fitzgerald told several media outlets in an email and the corrections began." The Guardian and The Herald "are among the only publications to make a public mea culpa," the Associated Press continues. See " Student hoaxes world's media with fake Wiki quote http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/web/student-hoaxes-worlds-media-with-fake-wiki-quote/2009/05/12/1241893953955.html," The Sydney Morning Herald (12 May 2009).
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