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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums59 years ago today; The Day the Music Died
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died
On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later became known as "The Day the Music Died", after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his song "American Pie" in 1971.
At the time, Holly and his band, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, were playing on the "Winter Dance Party" tour across the United States Midwest. Rising artists Valens and Richardson had joined the tour, as well. The long journeys between venues on board the cold, uncomfortable tour buses adversely affected the performers, with cases of flu and even frostbite. After stopping at Clear Lake to perform, and frustrated by such conditions, Holly chose to charter a plane to reach their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Richardson, who had the flu, swapped places with Jennings, taking his seat on the plane, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss. Soon after takeoff, late at night and in poor, wintry weather conditions, the pilot lost control of the light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, which subsequently crashed into a cornfield. Everyone on board was killed. The event has since been mentioned in various songs and films. A number of monuments have been erected at the crash site and in Clear Lake, where an annual memorial concert is also held at the Surf Ballroom, the venue that hosted the artists' last performance.
</snip>
On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later became known as "The Day the Music Died", after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his song "American Pie" in 1971.
At the time, Holly and his band, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, were playing on the "Winter Dance Party" tour across the United States Midwest. Rising artists Valens and Richardson had joined the tour, as well. The long journeys between venues on board the cold, uncomfortable tour buses adversely affected the performers, with cases of flu and even frostbite. After stopping at Clear Lake to perform, and frustrated by such conditions, Holly chose to charter a plane to reach their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Richardson, who had the flu, swapped places with Jennings, taking his seat on the plane, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss. Soon after takeoff, late at night and in poor, wintry weather conditions, the pilot lost control of the light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, which subsequently crashed into a cornfield. Everyone on board was killed. The event has since been mentioned in various songs and films. A number of monuments have been erected at the crash site and in Clear Lake, where an annual memorial concert is also held at the Surf Ballroom, the venue that hosted the artists' last performance.
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59 years ago today; The Day the Music Died (Original Post)
Dennis Donovan
Feb 2018
OP
I was not born the day the music died, nor when the song about it was written.
Kirk Lover
Feb 2018
#10
Croney
(4,670 posts)1. I was 14.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)2. Why organize a tour of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa in January/February?
That part never made sense to me.
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)3. Plus, the tour date locations were not linear...
...scattered among cities and towns that required long bus trips between them. Add the broken heater in the tour bus into the equation and you see what led the musicians to charter the Bonanza.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)6. Because it doesn't snow 24/7/365
and because they were young. Young = fearless.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)16. Because that is WHAT BANDS DO! nt
milestogo
(16,829 posts)4. Singer Dion DiMucci was supposed to be on that flight
but he couldn't afford the $29 airfare. He's still performing.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)18. It was $36 dollars. Like $300 today. nt
Ferrets are Cool
(21,110 posts)5. Bye, bye Miss American Pie...nm
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)7. Miss American Pie
TomSlick
(11,109 posts)13. Thanks for posting this.
The theme song of my misspent youth.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)14. Well, it got you here, didn't it?
Your misspent youth, that is. So not so misspent.
TomSlick
(11,109 posts)15. No regrets - well, no serious regrets.
As you say, it got me here.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)17. There ya go
Greybnk48
(10,176 posts)8. I was 10 years old, and remember it clearly
as I'm sure most people old enough do. It was shocking.
Persondem
(1,936 posts)9. Thank you for the reminder. I did not know the date of this tragedy. K & R nt
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)10. I was not born the day the music died, nor when the song about it was written.
But I'm here to attest that the music did not die that day...because someone who was not yet born would be introduced to that era and with that, the music has lived on.
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)11. No one takes the phrase "The Day the Music Died" literally...
...except you, I suppose.
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)12. I guess you missed what I was going for...but that's ok !!! )
Rhiannon12866
(206,009 posts)19. Important reminder!