On this day in 1959, rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorehead, Minnesota. Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and pilot error. Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day.”
After mechanical difficulties with the tour bus, Holly had chartered a plane for his band to fly between stops on the Winter Dance Party Tour. However, Richardson, who had the flu, convinced Holly’s band member Waylon Jennings to give up his seat, and Ritchie Valens won a coin toss for another seat on the plane.
Submitted by: Unknown
Via: www.history.com
-
-
Copy & paste this:
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-94wNw88f65Rhk.gif?labels=MTVN%20Digital%20Tribes\")
but February made me shiver, with every paper I delivered
bad news on the door step, I couldn’t take, one more step
I can’t remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
but something touched me deep inside
the day
the music
died…
If you believe in forever
Then life is just a one-night stand
If there’s a rock and roll heaven
Well you know they’ve got a hell of a band, band, band….
So “Bye bye Miss American Pie”
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good old boys drinking whiskey and rye
Singing “This’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die.”
Tragic. I don’t remember it because I wasn’t alive then (as I’m only in junior high), but I know it was a great loss for rock ‘n roll that day. I know all the lyrics be heart. ♥
A really good X-Files episode touched upon this event, in “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”.
This was, indeed, one of the saddest days in history. Buddy Holly is one of my favorite musicians of his time, and it kills me knowing how much more he had in store for the world.
I remember that day. Very sad.
Bye, Bye Miss American Pie…
Yes, it truly was the Day the Music Died.
super bummer…so many other great musicians have gone on to the other side since then….janis joplin, jimi hendrix, jim morrison, jerry garcia,john bonham, sid vicious, cliff burton, raybeez, brad nowell,johnny cash, dimebag darrel, peter steele, dio…the list goes on and on….their music lives forever though….shine on you crazy diamonds
Their legacy will live on, rock ‘n roll will never die.
SMALL correction…”That’ll Be the Day” was released in 1957 (about two years previously) on Decca subsidiary Brunswick under the “Crickets” name. Buddy Holly’s “solo” releases (the Crickets were still his backup band) under his own name (“Peggy Sue”/ “Everyday” for example…also 1957) were released on another Decca subsidiary, Coral. Still an excellent article, and Holly, Valens, and Richardson deserve our respect, and will never be forgotten…rock on!
The crash haunted Waylon for years. The “mechanical problem” was the heater on the bus. Heading for the plane, the Big Bopper cracked a joke about Waylon having to sit on the freezing bus instead of him. Waylon responded “Oh, yeah? Hope you crash.”
Glad to see comments from people for whom music is not just pleasant background noise.
Miss you Ritchie Valens! Los Lobos did a great cover of “La Bamba”.
“The stars belong in the sky!”