The Day The Music Died: How a plane crash ended the lives of rock 'n' roll legends Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens
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. February 3, 2020, marks 61 years since the disaster. We look back at the tragic stars and the legacy they left behind:
Charles Hardin Holley, known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll
Ritchie Valens, was a rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months during which he had several hits, most notably La Bamba
The Big Bopper, was an American musician, songwriter, and disc jockey. His best known compositions include 'Chantilly Lace' and 'White Lightning', the latter of which became George Jones' first number
Buddy Holly and his band — Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch — were playing their Winter Dance Party —Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and Dion and the Belmon joined too
Richardson, who had the flu, swapped places with Jennings, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss. The plane took off normally from runway 17 at 12.55 am Central Time, February 3
Hubert Jerry Dwyer, the owner of the Dwyer Flying Service, was able to see clearly the aircraft's tail light for most of the brief flight till it took a turn
Around 1 am, when the pilot failed to make the expected radio contact, repeated attempts to establish communication were made, at Dwyer's request, by the radio operator, but they were all unsuccessful
Dwyer, having heard no word from the pilot since his departure, took off in another airplane to retrace his planned route. At around 9:35 am, he spotted the wreckage less than 10 km from the airport
Fans have gathered for annual memorial concerts at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake ever since 1979. The 50th-anniversary concert took place in 2009
In 1988, a four-foot-tall granite memorial showing the names of Peterson and the three singers was installed outside the Surf Ballroom, with Peterson's widow, parents, and sister in attendance
Don McLean addressed the accident in his song 'American Pie', naming it 'the Day the Music Died'. McLean described the incident as the 'loss of innocence' of the early rock-and-roll generation
A large steel structure of Wayfarer-style glasses similar to those worn by Holly can be seen at the access point to the crash site
Buddy Holly's pregnant wife, María Elena, found out about his death from TV reports. A widow after just six months of marriage, she suffered a miscarriage soon after
The Winter Dance Party tour carried on, and Jennings and Allsup continued performing for two more weeks, with Jennings taking Holly's place as lead singer
The funerals of the victims were held individually. Holly and Richardson were buried in Texas, Valens in California, and Peterson in Iowa
