This was the year that will be remembered as the darkest in the history of the band, as it was the year in which Paul was killed at the end of our Western Canadian Tour.

The last day of the tour was in Vancouver, British Columbia. The band had the choice of spending $120 for a flight home or riding home in the van for three days. Paul chose to ride in the van and Daryl went along as well because he was taking care of our road management at the time and had paper work to do.

After the show those that were flying went back to the hotel to party and the van left for the U.S. border as it was much shorter of a trip to drive through the States. When they arrived at the border U.S. immigration wouldn't let them cross because they didn't have a "carne" for the gear so they were forced to turn around and drive through Canada. About 7 A.M. in the morning, when they were around 60 miles outside of Kamloops, the driver fell asleep and the van left the road, plunging 40 feet down an embankment. The van rolled several times and everyone except Daryl, who was in the passenger seat, was thrown from the van. Daryl told me that when he awoke he was upside down and had to undo his seat belt to get out.

He was bleeding badly from numerous cuts he had endured but he managed to crawl up the side of the hill to the main highway. All of the guys were laying around on the ground, some were unconscious, and Paul was moaning and complaining that his chest hurt. Daryl went up to the highway and many cars passed him before a doctor and his wife finally stopped and phoned for an ambulance. Paul died on route to the hospital, probably from internal injuries.

Back at the hotel in Vancouver, I had gotten up and gone to a writer's place to check out his studio. When I returned, everyone was crying. I immediately knew something was wrong when I walked into the lobby. When they told me Paul was dead, I just couldn't believe it. Of all the people that I knew in my life I thought Paul would live to be 100.

By that night we were back home and the news was on the radio and TV everywhere. My phone was ringing off the hook but I just ignored it. The next days we would spent being hounded by the press (I never knew that they could be so intrusive and rude).