DVDizzy Forum

Monday, February 3, 2014 will mark the 55th Anniversary of the "Day the Music Died" when a small plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valenz, crashed just outside Clear Lake, Iowa killing all three of them and their pilot.

Buddy Holly, who had major hits with Peggy Sue, True Love Ways, Oh Boy, Maybe Baby and That'll Be The Day, chartered the ill-fated plane to keep from catching a flu bug that was circulating on the bus that the tour was traveling on. The New Crickets, as Buddy referred to them after he broke up with the original band, featured Waylon Jennings, and they were on the bus that made it their next gig only to find out that Buddy was killed in the crash.

The Big Bopper was well-known for his big hit "Chantilly Lace". And Richie Valenz was an up-coming star who had back to back hits with "Donna" and "La Bamba".

My first day on commercial radio was February 3, 1959 and it was very hard for me to keep back the tears after having to read the news about this event. Later in the day our programming went strictly to tributes by other aritsts recorded during the day, and playing Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valenz music. It was truly "the day the music died".

It is hard to believe that no one else responded to this reminder of the loss of three of the pioneers of rock and roll music.

Buddy Holly was the first artist who also produced his own music because he didn't trust someone else to do it the way he intended.

Richie Valens and I went to the same Jr. High School, Pacoima Jr. High School, and though I am a little older than him, I remember that at one of the alumni shows he was the headliner and provided a lot of great music for the occasion.

J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson was a Texas deejay who wrote and recorded a number one hit called "Chantilly Lace". He appeared on the Dick Clark Saturday Bandstand show, more than any other artist, and was on his first major tour when this accident happened.

A lot of stars who were in this same tour went on to bigger and better things. Stars like Dion, Bobby Vee, just to mention a couple.

Whether you liked the music or weren't even born when all this happened these three artists have to be remembered for their contribution to the recording scene back in the late fifties.

Whether you have heard of them or not, I would urge you to listen to their music for just a few minutes and see if it doesn't make you think about what could have been had this terrible tragedy not occurred.

Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. Richardson have been greviously missed and I'll tell you an interesting story about Buddy.

My late grandfather who was my mother's dad, once hosted a radio station in Mississippi in the 1950's and had special guests who would be on tour in the South depending on the artists in question, Elvis Presley came and performed a song live next to my grandfather and afterwards the station took a picture of Elvis and him (which I actually still have in one of the photo albums). He did tell me that not only Elvis was there but Buddy and his band also stopped by as well and they were nice and shook hands after heading to the theatre for their limited engagment.

Quite a story isn't it?

Thanks for sharing that. You have some interesting things to treasure from the past.

I was a disc jockey in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Paris, France. When I was on assignment to Weisbaden, Germany, I was told I had a very big story which included an interveiw, and it turned out to be PFC Elvis Aaron Presley. On the mantle of our fireplace I have a picture taken of me with Elvis right after the interview. And you are correct, he was a very nice, humble person, and very easy to talk to. I will remember that hour for the rest of my life.

Again, thanks for sharing your story, it brings back a lot of memories of music of that era. We will never again have that much talent to choose from.