Paul's Super Bowl Appearance Triggers Keener Memories

My daughter called me yesterday afternoon. She is an account exec at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville and, like everyone else who has any remote connection to the media, has been shanghaied into on-air duty during Super Bowl week. "Paul McCartney was sighted at EndoXo last night," she told me. Endo is one of the hipper bistros in J-ville and rumor has it that the Beatle is staying at nearby Amilia Island as he preps for his half time appearance on Sunday.

But is it really him? At time like this, the old Paul-Is-Dead rumors resurface, and the stories of how WKNR was involved also pop up. Several months ago, we were contacted by a Dutch film crew who is producing the latest documentary on the most famous of Beatle urban legends. They wanted to connect with the indomitable Russ Gibb and meet up with Tom Zarski, the EMU student who's call to Russ on WKNR-FM triggered the amplification of the story to the national stage. Last week, the docu-journalists made the trek to Dearborn to interview Russ. Rock journalist Susan Whitall was there to capture the event for the Detroit News.

The best telling of the tale is certainly Andru Reeve's meticulously researched book: Turn Me On Dead Man - The Beatles and the Paul McCartney Death Hoax, available on line from Authorhouse. In it, he explores every nuance of the web of clues and personalities, including the erie connection that the late Terry Knight seems to have to the affair. Listen to our November 13, 2004 podcast for the story.

The attention Russ gets from all of this used to be an inconvenience, he unlisted his phone number because of all the curious calls he got. Today he's bemused about the continuing interest in this Beatle bit, telling Susan, "I think there's a universal intelligence, a connection to everything," says Gibb, sounding once again like his 1969, underground DJ self. "Certain things trigger molecular structures to change. I think there's a reason, but I don't know what the reason is."

Classic Russ.