Another crash victim, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, 28, started out as a disk jockey in Texas and later began writing songs. Richardson's most famous recording was the rockabilly "Chantilly Lace," which made the Top 10. He developed a stage show based on his radio persona, "The Big Bopper."
The third crash victim was Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenzuela in a suburb of Los Angeles, who was only 17 when the plane went down but had already scored hits with "Come On, Let's Go," "Donna" and "La Bamba," an upbeat number based on a traditional Mexican wedding song (though Valens barely spoke Spanish). In 1987, Valens' life was portrayed in the movie La Bamba, and the title song, performed by Los Lobos, became a No. 1 hit. Valens was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit "American Pie," which refers to February 3, 1959 as "the day the music died."
rock and roll will never die...
That was a long, long time ago. I can still remember.... (I’m 65.)
This was a terrible tragedy and a huge loss.
Although I'm no Rolling Stone (Mag) fan, here is a typical "All Time Greatest Hits" survey. You will see what I mean. Most of the great pop music comes from the 60's.
According to the accident reports, it was primarily pilot error that caused the crash. The pilot had overestimated his abilities but wasnt qualified to fly under such conditions (nighttime during a snow storm). It required a pilot who was properly trained to fly by his instruments. 9 months earlier the pilot was tested for his certification for that particular thing, but he flunked.
Check out this 1957 video of Buddy Holley and he Crickets on the Arthur Murray Dance Party..listen to the introduction..the adults hadn't really figured out R&R..and also note that this was BEFORE he started wearing the big black glasses that became his trademark..
Little Known Fact
J. P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, and country music super-star George Jones were life long friends.
Richardson wrote the country song “White Lightning” which was first recorded by Jones the week after the airplane crash at Clear Lake.
The song went on to become the first #1 hit for Jones at the start of his long career.
Interesting comments there...
I really enjoy this thread. I was 12 when this happened and my sister and I were affected by the crash. We were really into the music having been strongly influenced by our mother toward all things musical.
I came here for the news and politics, but this type of thread is icing on the cake.
Thanx again.
Because of Holly's untimely death, he became a legend. Had he lived, today he would be just another old guy doing golden oldies tours.
At the time of his death was evolving away from the rock'n'roll that made him famous, following Elvis into syrupy pop, even going as far as to (gasp) allow string sections to be dubbed onto his music.
His best songs were all hard rockers...
Rock Around With Ollie Vee
I'm Gonna Love You Too
Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Rave On
Oh Boy
And yes, in a sense, the music DID die that day in 1959, only to come exploding back to life in 1965.
ping
What a great thread! I was 10 years old and living in Moorhead. MN at the time. I do remember the news of the crash but wasnt particularly attuned to who they were, yet, I guess.