Buddy Holly: The tour from hell

StarTribune ^ | 1/25/09 | PAMELA HUEY

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

The rickety old bus pulled out of the Duluth Armory late on Saturday, Jan. 31, 1959, and headed across St. Louis Bay into the frigid Wisconsin night.

On board were some exhausted, stinky rock 'n' rollers and their harried manager. The Winter Dance Party tour had just finished its ninth gig in as many days and was headed east for Appleton and Green Bay, for shows 10 and 11 on Sunday.

But as the temperature plunged to around 30 below and the wind howled, fate intervened. The southbound bus creaked to a stop as it struggled up an incline on Hwy. 51 about 10 miles south of Hurley.

Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, Waylon Jennings, Dion and the others were stranded on a remote highway in the northern Wisconsin forest. They huddled under blankets and burned newspapers to try to stay warm. Buddy's drummer was nursing painful frostbitten feet.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

It was the night the music almost died.......

[max americana]

Tragic. I recall that Paul Mcartney stated that his Buddy Holly records were his most prized possessions back then and he wanted to play like him.

[JoeProBono]

[hoosiermama]

Thought you might want to see this.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Much more important things are being shoved down our throats, this week.....

[max americana]

I remember the one with Gary Busey playing Buddy Holly in one movie.

[Clemenza]

Nerdiest looking cool guy ever. Great songwriter, but lets not forget the Crickets (especially Sonny Curtis).

[max americana]

My 15 year-old younger cousin saw it a year ago and he said “That’s Gary Busey? Awesome!” I agree, he should’ve had.

[wastedyears]

The headstock isn’t right on the guitar. Unless that’s how some were made then.

[JoeProBono]

The Crickets

[Richard Kimball]

Not being a musician, I hadn't noticed. Here's Buddy with his guitar:

Looks similar to me, but I can't tell a violin from a harp.

[Richard Kimball]

Thanks for posting. A lot of talent comes out of Lubbock. I’ve been there and agree with Mac Davis that happiness is Lubbock, Texas in your rear view mirror. I guess there’s something about the desolation that encourages creativity.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I just thought it was a really interesting article. We all know about the Iowa crash, but few knew the lead-up, how they struggled to make a living, hopping from one tiny venue to the next, during the worst possible time of the year....

[Drammach]

1958 Fender Stratocaster: Here's a link to a site that shows the guitar being restored. http://www.buddyhollyonline.com/guitar.html (pops)

[ccmay]

I was scanning my cable guide this morning and was surprised to see that neither of the very good movies: "the Buddy Holly Story", or " Richie" were playing this weekend.

I don't remember a "Richie" movie. Do you mean La Bamba?

[Tolkien]

When Buddy was getting on the plane, he told Waylon Jennings he hoped the bus would break down and Waylon said " Oh yeah? Well I hope your plane crashes."

Tis true.

[mkjessup]

The music still lives, and check out this guy, personally I think he's amazing:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=vMdSqjjxXMk

Think "Buddy Holly unplugged".