 |
| Tour Poster |
 |
The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly
and Ritchie Valens |
It
was fifty-three years ago today that a small-chartered plane crashed near Clear
Lake, Iowa killing all four on-board.
Three of the men were the most promising stars of rock and roll, and the
crash has been called the greatest tragedy rock and roll ever suffered.
February
2, 1959:
 |
| Tour Buses |
 |
| 1947 Beechcraft |
After
playing all evening at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Buddy Holly, Ritchie
Valens and J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, climbed aboard a 1947 four-seat
Beechcraft Bonanza. Holly had
grown tired of their tour bus’s lack of heat, (The heating system stopped
working right after they started their tour through the Midwest,) and the
continual breakdowns on the road.
He and two other members paid $36 each to fly to the next tour stop
Moorhead, Minnesota, 380 miles away.
It was the eleventh night of the twenty-four-city Winter Dance Party
tour. Piloting the plane was
twenty-one year old Roger Peterson.
 |
| Waylon Jennings |
 |
| J. P. Richardson |
Stories
have been passed down about the fateful group assembled to fly that night. Jiles P. Richardson, better known as
The Big Bopper, had come down with the flu. The last thing he wanted was to ride in a cold bus for
almost 400 miles, so he asked band member, Waylon Jennings, for his seat on the
plane. Jennings agreed and went on
to ride in the frigid bus with another band member Tommy Allsup.
 |
| Waylon and Buddy |
According
to Jennings, since he was now taking the bus, Holly had jokingly said to him, "Well,
I hope your ol' bus freezes up."
Jennings had laughingly responded, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes".
Waylon Jennings said he never forgot this exchange of banter, and that
it always haunted him.
 |
| Ritchie Valens |
 |
| Jennings, Holly, Allsup |
Tommy
Allsup was also supposed to be on the plane, but had flipped a coin with
Ritchie Valens for the seat – and ‘lost the toss.’
 |
| Air field tower |
 |
| Night-time snow |
The
small plane took off at 12:55 A.M. on February 3rd in a light snow
with winds gusting up to 30 m.p.h.
Ten minutes later, Pilot Peterson had not attempted to call in and file
a flight plan. Plane owner, Hubert Dwyer became concerned. He requested that the tower attempt to
contact the Beechcraft. Despite
repeated attempts over the next several hours, no contact was ever
established. By 3:30 A.M. the
plane was reported as missing.
 |
| Crash site |
The
wreckage was discovered the next morning in a cornfield six miles from the
airport. Authorities said the
plane had banked slightly and then plowed into the ground at 170 mile per
hour. The plane flipped and
skidded another 570 feet before stopping against a fence. Only the pilot’s body was still
entangled in the wreckage. Holly
and Valens were thrown from the plane and found nearby. Richardson’s body flew across the fence
and landed in an adjacent field.
The local coroner said that all four died instantly.
 |
| Cockpit of Beechcraft |
Investigations
into the crash revealed that it had resulted from poor weather conditions and
pilot error resulting in spatial disorientation. Later
investigations found that the pilot was not certified to fly in that type of
weather, which would have required flying by instrument reference.
 |
Jay Richardson
with his father's casket in 2007 |
Another
investigation was held into the crash in 2007, ordered by the Big Bopper’s son,
Jay Richardson. It was requested
in order to dispel rumors that a gun shot on board the plane had caused the
accident. Legend had it that J.P. Richardson had been alive after the crash, and
attempted to crawl for help before dying in the field next to the
wreckage. Autopsy reports for
Richardson verified the original findings that he too, had died on impact and
had been thrown forty feet from the wreckage.
 |
| Don McLean |
In
1971, singer/songwriter Don McLean released his American Pie album. The song of the same name recounted his
remembrances of “The Day the Music Died," February 3, 1959 when Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, J. P. Richardson were killed. When asked what the cryptic lyrics
meant, McLean once replied, "You will find many interpretations of my
lyrics but none of them by me.... Sorry to leave you all on your own like this
but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move
on, maintaining a dignified silence.” Many have speculated that McLean was
commenting on the radical changes that had occurred in society during the past
ten years, the loss of innocence, from the time of Holly’s death to the late
sixties.
Buddy Holly -
 |
| Buddy Holly |
 |
| Holly in Concert |
Charles
Hardin “Buddy” Holly was 22 when he died. He has been described as the single
most influential creative force in early rock and roll. Holly formed the band the Crickets in
1956. He then left the group near the end of 1958 to begin his solo career. He was
best known for the 1957 hit, That’ll Be the Day, and Peggy Sue in 1958. Holly had
just married Maria Eleba Santiago in late 1958. She was pregnant at the time of the plane crash but
miscarried shortly after. Buddy Holly is buried in the City of Lubbock Cemetery
in Lubbock, Texas.
Ritchie
Valens -
 |
| Ritchie Valens |
Richard
(Ritchie) Valenzuela (Valens) was only 17 at the time of his death. Valens was best know for his hit songs, Come
On Let’s Go from 1958, and Donna and La Bamb, from 1959. He made his
first appearance on American Bandstand in October 1958. It was near the end of January 1959 when Valens joined the Winter
Dance Party on tour. Ritchie
Valens is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.
The Big Bopper -
 |
| Jiles P. Richardson |
 |
| The Big Bopper |
Jiles
P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, was 28 years old when he was killed, Richardson
was a Texas D.J., and singer/songwriter who became famous in 1958 with the
song, Chantilly Lace. He had written numerous songs during
his short career, including a number one song for George Jones called White
Lightning, and the number one hit Running
Bear for Johnny Preston. Richardson was survived by his wife,
Adrianne Joy Fryou, and four-year-old daughter, Debra. His son, Jay Richardson was born two
months after his death. J.P.
Richardson, the Big Bopper, is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Beaumont,
Texas.
 |
| Memorial at crash site |
 |
| Memorial for Holly |
And
over fifty years later, the fans still remember and mourn. Memorials have been erected at the
crash site, the location of the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, and at the
Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay Wisconsin, where they had played the night
before, on February 1st, 1959.
No
one knows what would have happened in that up and coming era of rock and roll
if any of the three musicians had survived. But opinions still run high that Don McLean got it right –
it truly was “The Day the Music Died.”
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……
~
Joy
In
1971, singer/songwriter Don McLean released his American Pie album. The song of the same name recounted his
remembrances of “The Day the Music Died," February 3, 1959 when Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, J. P. Richardson were killed. When asked what the cryptic lyrics
meant, McLean once replied, "You will find many interpretations of my
lyrics but none of them by me.... Sorry to leave you all on your own like this
but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move
on, maintaining a dignified silence.” Many have speculated that McLean was
commenting on the radical changes that had occurred in society during the past
ten years, the loss of innocence, from the time of Holly’s death to the late
sixties.
