Ostensibly a tribute to Buddy Holly ('the day the music died), it references music throughout the sixties up until 1970. The Jester (Bob Dylan) singing for the King and Queen (Elvis Presley and Ella Fitzgerald), the Beatles are referenced twice (while Lennon read a book on Marx, the Quartet practised in the park ... later the Sergeants played a marching tune, a salute to Sgt Pepper), the Byrds (Eight Miles High and Falling), the marijuana smoke at Woodstock (the halftime air was sweet perfume), the disastrous Rolling Stones concert at Altamont in 1969 where a fan was murdered by Hell's Angel security guard (Mick Jagger was costumed as the devil) and Janis Joplin is the girl who sang the blues.
I like that song. I heard that song twice over the radio the past two days. I've always wondered about the lyrics. I knew there was some story as you've shared but I never knew the details. Thanks from me! :)