Guest Gene:
The saddest story I ever heard was not unsimilar to yours.
A publican/singer/traditional music fanatic had a bar in a southern Irish town which was frequented by one of Ireland's legendary source fiddle players.
Every time the old man came into town, the publican made a point of asking him to play, and recorded each session, carefully putting the tapes in a box, which he then locked in a cupboard in the bar; realising their importance, the publican refused to play them for anybody.
This went on for several years until the fiddle player died, and after the funeral a session was held in the bar in his memory. The tapes were carefully taken out to be played to the assembled company, who watched in horror as the "oxide coating peeled off".
The publican hadn't noticed the hot water pipe running through the cupboard where the tapes had been stored.
Jim Carroll