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Thinking of golf in Spain always reminds me of the story
told, if I am not mistaken, by the Scottish comedian Billy
Connolly, about the day Bing
Crosby died.
The story begins in 1977 in a local radio station, where
the ambitious star DJ is about to go on the air as the news
comes in over the tickertape that Bing Crosby has dropped
dead on La Moraleja golf course in Madrid,
Spain.* The DJ recognizes the opportunity for a scoop if he
can announce the news immediately, and runs at breakneck speed
down to the archive, where he snatches the first Bing Crosby
record he sees.
Back in his booth, he glances at the record label before
placing it on the turntable, as his programme begins. He speaks
his opening words in a calculatedly solemn voice. "Ladies
and Gentlemen, it is my painful task to announce that the
world of music, indeed the world, has suffered a great loss.
The great, the incomparable Bing Crosby has died of a heart
attack, while playing golf in Spain. In tribute, I am going
to play one of his most beloved songs - "Cheek to Cheek."
The turntable spins, the song begins with a few bars of trumpet
solo, and the DJ leans back with a smugly satisfied expression
on his face, wiped off as Bing's mellow voice rings out all
over the region, crooning, "Heaven, I'm in heaven..."
Feature article > Golf
Courses in Spain and Portugal
* According to The Bing
Crosby Files, his last words were, "That was a great
game of golf fellas."
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