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So many sing about “the day that music died” on Feb. 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash. Don McLean coined the term in his 1971 hit “American Pie.”

I Fought the Law · Buddy Holly & The Crickets

Rock 'n’ roll was still in its infancy when it suffered its first tragedy. On Feb. 3, 1959, three of its biggest stars — Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as the Big Bopper — were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The three acts, along with Dion and the Belmonts, were on a package tour called the Winter Dance Party, which was to play 24 Midwestern cities in as many days. But the bus’ heating system was ill-equipped and broke down a few days later, which caused some musicians to catch the flu and...

On February 3, 1959, the music world was shocked when American rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP 'The Big Bopper' Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, along with pilot Roger Peterson. The event eventually became known as 'The Day the Music Died', after Don McLean's classic 1971 song 'American Pie'. Today (February 3) marks 61 years since the disaster. Here, we look back at who the tragic stars were and the legacy they left behind:

The life of a musician is a treacherous one. Many die from substance abuse, gunfire or even angry fans, whilst many, though seemingly a lot fewer, die of plain old age. There are some though, who have died from plane or helicopter crashes; many of whom are very well known and sad losses to the music industry. Here are the ten most famous. Ricky Nelson On December 31st, 1985, Rock & roll singer Ricky Nelson (45), five members of his Stone Canyon band, and his fiancée, were all killed when a fire broke out on board a DC-3 taking them...

Welcome to Your Weekend the sentiments of my week expressed in the music set that reflects my opening up the boxes of my past to sort things out and throw away some things and keep others. The cards and letters from people in my past like the guy that lived in an "Animal House" fraternity setting and ended up joining the Salvation Army. The man who was the Best Man at my wedding who told me the truth about myself just years after I got married and was working in the mainstream media serving as the officer of the church...

SNIP “I was 14 when [Buddy Holly] died,” McLean says, “which was the same year my father died. It’s all wrapped up together. We basically had no money coming in when my dad left. We were destitute. But the thing I remember most from that time is, Buddy Holly is gone.” It inspired him to write and record his breakout hit, 1971’s “American Pie,” which went on to be named one of the top five songs of the century by the National Endowment for the Arts and RIAA. Stars on the Record Even today, far removed from the tragedy, he...

Day 321 Of The Dictatorship Of COVID-19, Day 321 Of America And The World Held Hostage Back in 1979 Americans taken hostage in Iran and ABC News coining the phrase "America Held Hostage" as illustrated in this first of many late night special reports... And here we are in 2021 the Dictatorship of COVID-19 and Americans held hostage like Gayle Meyer... Don McLean's "American Pie" was all over the radio back in 1972 and many phrases in that song including "The Day The Music Died". It will be 62 years ago this Wednesday "The Day The Music Died" February 3,...

Don McLean, the 74-year-old singer best known for his 1971 hit “American Pie,” says he is not impressed with the music of today. The singer-songwriter believes times have certainly changed since his early days in the music industry, and he’s claiming there is no longer music of substance when he turns on the radio. The folk-rock singer sat down with Tom Cridland for his YouTube series “The Greatest Music of All Time” to reflect on his musical career highlights. During the candid conversation, McLean partially discusses his political views, claiming that politics no longer “really mean anything,” and he likened...

Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Richie Valens plummeted to their deaths as their plane crashed in the fields of Clear Lake, Iowa. Eleven years later, a singer-songwriter in Cold Springs, New York, poignantly wrote about the tragedy in the intro to his magnum opus “American Pie,” dubbing it “The Day the Music Died.” A 13-year-old paperboy at the time of the plane crash (“But February made me shiver/With every paper I’d deliver”), Don McLean was devastated over Holly’s death; he later said that the fallout from the event “created a sense of grief that lived inside of...

Peggy Sue Gerron was born on June 15, 1940, in Olton, Texas, and grew up in Lubbock, Texas. Sources say she passed away in a Lubbock hospital this morning at the age of 78. Peggy Sue was a high school senior when she was cast into the international spotlight by Buddy Holly’s release of the namesake song that climbed to the top of 1957 Billboard Charts. Following her divorce from Jerry Allison, Peggy Sue went to Pasadena Junior College in Pasadena, California, and became a dental assistant. She then married again and had two children, a girl and a boy,...

Valerie Stull was 12 when she ate her first insect. “I was on a trip with my parents in Central America and we were served fried ants,” she says. “I remember being so grossed out initially, but when I put the ant in my mouth, I was really surprised because it tasted like food — and it was good!” Today, Stull, a recent doctoral graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, is the lead author of a new pilot clinical trial published in the journal Scientific Reports that looks at what eating crickets does to the...

Remembering his (and The Crickets) only visit to England [BBC One Show clip]

(Originally published by the Daily News on Feb. 4, 1959.) MASON CITY, IOWA, Feb. 3. - Three rock 'n' roll singing stars, who records and appearances stirred millions of teenagers, were killed early today in an Iowa field. The four-place plane carrying the three and their pilot crashed soon after taking off in light snow and heavy gusts of wind from the Mason City Airport. Dead were Buddy Holly, 22, of Lubbock, Tex.; Ritchie Valens, 17, of Los Angeles; J.P. (Big Bopper) Richardson, 24, of Beaumont, Tex., and Roger Peterson, 21, of Clear Lake, Iowa, the pilot.

Trump leaves Ottumwa, Iowa then, I assume hops on his plane and goes waaaaaaaay up to Clear Lake to speak @ 4pm. Tight schedule, so I suspect it will be well organized, AND HE'LL BE ON TIME. The event will be, as always, live BUT I hear it will be carried on C-Span. ( Please copy and post http://www.c-span.org/video/?402934-1/donald-trump-campaign-rally-clear-lake-iowa ) Many of us are getting into the habit of watching live or on replay then sharing the event with our comments here on FR. We'll attract a few trolls, but keep in mind that in a few more months we'll...

... be hailed a hero for trying to avert disaster' An investigation into the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and three others could now be reopened after a respected pilot brought forward new factors as to how the aircraft may have gone down. At the time of the crash, the Civil Aeronautics Board ruled the probable cause of the crash was error by the pilot, Roger Peterson, who took off from Mason City to Moorhead, Minnesota, in inclement weather, even though he was qualified. The chartered plane crashed in Iowa not long after takeoff, killing Holly, Peterson, and...

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Joe B. Mauldin, a bass player for Buddy Holly and The Crickets, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 74... Mauldin began playing bass in his early teens and was a member of The Four Teens before joining Holly's band, The Crickets, in 1957. After Holly's death about two years later, The Crickets continued to record and perform, backing the Everly Brothers on an international tour and, in 1960, releasing their first of several post-Holly albums, "In Style with the Crickets." ..Mauldin and fellow Crickets Allison, Sonny Curtis and the late Niki...

Neither USA Today nor Wikipedia can be excerpted on FR, but according to both Joe B. Mauldin, bassist for Buddy Holly's Crickets, has died at the age of 74. This is a sad day for Buddy Holly fans.

In February 1959, a paperboy delivered newspapers with a story about a plane crash in Iowa.About a decade later, the paperboy, Don McLean, described the day in his song, “American Pie.”He began by remembering the papers he delivered: A long long time ago, I can still remember how, That music used to make me smile.And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance, And maybe they’d be happy for a while.But February made me shiver, With every paper I’d deliver. Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn’t take one more step.I can’t remember if...

A virtual Buddy Holly performance will headline a new show that’s planned to debut in Holly’s birth state of Texas during 2016. Hologram USA Entertainment will present the show in partnership with Maria Elena Holly, the star’s widow and head of Buddy Holly Licensing; plans are to use this debut to kick off a show tour. Hologram USA is already working on the hologram-like performance of the rock and roll icon, as well as on a similar show around Liberace, which will debut in Las Vegas. Through the partnership with Buddy Holly Licensing, the company has access to music and...