RIP To A Legend. The Man Behind "Brass Bonanza" Has Died
I’ll be honest. I had no idea who Jack Say was before today. But even without ever knowing he existed, the man managed to touch my life and touch millions of other hockey fans’ lives with one, pure stroke of genius. “Brass Bonanza” is more than just a song. It’s more than just a bunch of trumpets and tubas and trombones all playing together in unison for two and a half minutes.
For many of us, “Brass Bonanza” represents an era. A simpler time back when men could watch a hockey game with their eyes instead of with calculators and graphs on hand. A time when we only celebrated goals scored instead of creaming our pants over “shot attempts” and “zone entries”. Brass Bonanza brings us back to the days when life was good and hockey was violent. As soon as you hear the first few notes of the song, it’s like you got thrown into a time machine back to 1994. And that’s a beautiful thing.
So pour out a cold one for Jack Say today. If anybody needs me, I’ll be spending the rest of my day ripping clappers in the driveway while listening to “Brass Bonanza” on repeat. It’s what Jack would have wanted.
P.S. – Speaking of Brass Bonanza, the Hartford Yard Goats (minor league baseball) are having a Hartford Whalers alumni weekend this weekend. Out of all the gimmicks we’ve seen over the years in minor league baseball, this easily shoots up to #1 on the power rankings.