The world went suddenly quiet on February 3rd, 1959 following the infamous plane crash that took the lives of Ritchie Valens, JP ¨The Big Bopper” Richardson, Buddy Holly, and pilot Roger Peterson. After having some trouble with their tour bus, Holly reserved a plane for his band to fly to their next stop on the Winter Dance Party Tour. Peterson lost control of the plane only a few minutes after take off due to high winds and snow. The plane was found later by a rescue team only five miles away from the Mason City Municipal Airport. This upsetting accident shook the world and became known as the day the music died.
Fate intervened as country music artist Waylon Jennings and guitarist Tommy Allsup originally had seats on ill-fated flight N3794N. They both played in Holly’s band, The Crickets. Allsup narrowly averted danger after losing his seat on the plane following losing a coin to toss to Valens. Whilst Jennings actually gave up his seat to Richardson because he came down with the flu. Both artists felt remorse and survivor’s guilt after the crash. The tour went on after the crash, and Jennings had to fill in as lead singer.
Valens’s career was the shortest of them all the lives lost, having lost his life at age seventeen. Valens always had a passion for music, and so he played many instruments, but he was most drawn to guitar. When he was sixteen, he joined The Silhouettes, a rock garage band, and played around his hometown. At one of these shows, he was spotted by producer Bob Keane who worked for Del-Fi record label. They worked together to release hit songs ¨Donna¨ and ¨La Bamba¨. In 2001, Valens was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Ricky Martin posthumously.
Moreover, The Big Bopper was twenty-eight when he passed. He started out singing in his school choir and later became a DJ in his hometown Beaumont, Texas. He found such a passion for it that he dropped out of college to pursue his career as a disc jockey. In the 1950s, Richardson relocated to Houston to start recording his own songs. He released popular songs like “Chantilly Lace” and “The Big Bopper’s Wedding”. Richardson ended up becoming a full time performer after his career skyrocketed.
Between the three artists, Holly was the most renowned. He was heavily influenced by popular artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, and Hank Williams. He was considered one of the pioneers of rock n roll. He could play the guitar and fiddle from a very young age thanks to his older brothers. Right after high school, he formed a country music band called Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes. They later became The Crickets. The band opened for Elvis Presley in 1955, and their career took off.
Losing the lives of such talented music affected everyone including musician and songwriter, Don McLean, so in 1971, McLean created the folk-rock masterpiece ¨American Pie¨. This song is an eight and a half minute long anthem about this tragic day in music history. This song is so poetic with lyrics like “But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died” and “Now, do you believe in rock ‘n’ roll? Can music save your mortal soul?” McLean held the record for the longest song at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2021.
Henceforth, this is why February 3rd, 1959 is said to be ¨one of the darkest nights in history¨. It is very important to be educated on this event because of its lasting impact on music culture. These music legends have inspired many popular artists like Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. To learn more about this topic, check out La Bamba (1987), The Buddy Holly Story (1978), The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ (2022)!
