The fire would crackle and the camp director would pull out his guitar and play. Three songs would ring out of the gulley or over the lake and drift through the air toward nearby Waterloo… the songs were always moving. He would start with Simon & Garfunkel’s “Punky’s Dilemma” switch into an original called “Heroes” and finish with the Beatles “Blackbird.” Those songs have lingered in my memory for 35 years, and I suppose they’ll be with me for the rest of my life – it was just that powerful.

It’s also telling that I have always identified with McCartney’s live version over the Beatles original because of the illusion of immediacy; the idea of an acoustic guitar being played directly to you rather than through a set of speakers. Of course the reality is somewhat different.

Wings Over America/Rockshow is a performance piece, the show that solidified the conceit…