A little piece of me died when I drove by the old Daddy's Junky Music store on South Willow Street. They were renovating the old store.

There was a new wall going in, and it looked like the facade was getting updated I know there was no chance, none whatsoever, that the business was ever coming back. But I couldn't let go of that hope for some reason.

Seeing the work going on, gave me a new twinge of sadness.

Almost 20 years ago, long before I moved to New Hampshire, I bought my first electric guitar from Daddy's. (Just writing that makes me feel excruciatingly old...and also conjures up a Beatles song...it was 20 years ago today, anyone?) I remember signing up for their mail order catalog, and lusting over an old red Fender strat. I saved up for months, and as luck would have it, the guitar was still there when I had the money, and even dropped in price. I bought it. It was my first connection to New Hampshire. I still have the guitar today.

I remember driving by that same store the first week I moved here and doing a double take. I had forgotten that I bought it here, most likely from their Candia warehouse.

It's been almost six months since Daddy's closed up. The warehouse, their locations, everything — poof! Well, not totally. Manchester Music Mill was smart enough to grab a large chunk of their gear and hire several employees. Awesome that it stayed local.

Those 12 stores served musicians for decades. They were as much a victim of the change in musical tastes as anyone, and the chain's demise was an unfortunate consequence; a symptom untreated.

A few years ago, I stopped into the Manchester store with my old amp.

It was a rare Ampeg flip-top head tube amp. I was desperate for money at the time, scratching together enough money for two plane tickets for my son and I to visit my parents. I knew my amp was worth a lot.

“I'll give you $50 for it,” the guy in the store said, with a total straight face, “I can't find any info on it, so I'm not sure it's worth anything,” he tried to tell me. I stood there stunned for a moment, hoping it was a joke.

“No, that's a ridiculous offer, I'll keep it,” I said, leaving in a bit of a huff. I sold the amp on eBay for $600 two weeks later. That was a steal, but the buyer was the same person who actually designed the amp and owned the patent on it, or at least he said so. It gave me piece of mind, anyway. Musicians had a love-hate relationship with the place I'm sure. Such is the nature of dealing with creative types in business.

I'm not sure what business will occupy that space on South Willow, and it doesn't really matter. Thousands of dreams came through that door. Bands probably formed and broke up right on the showroom.

With the level of talent in this city, we owe a debt of gratitude to the places like Daddy's (and Hebert's, The Music Mill, etc...) that serve to feed those types.

There's a kid right now, who's picking up a guitar or drum sticks for the first time in the city.

It's good to know they will be able to keep those dreams, and do it locally.

In that way, a piece of Daddy's Junky Music, and its legacy — lives on.

Adam McCune is the author of “Funny Man Down.” McCune's Manchester appears Thursdays in the New Hampshire Union Leader. You can e-mail Adam at amccune@gmail.com.