Skip to main content
 logo

Main menu

  • The Philosophyguru
  • The Story of Questy
  • Rock Music History
  • Musical Explorations
  • Classic Movies

Rock Music History: The Day the Music Died

The Winter Dance Party 1959The 1971 song by Don McLean "American Pie" tells the story of the day the music died. That day would be February 3, 1959.

"The Winter Dance Party" was a hectic tour that was to cover twenty four Midwestern cities in three weeks. This infamous tour was plagued by cold weather issues with below zero temperatures and a bus with a broken heating system 

Frustrated by the travel problems Buddy Holly chartered a plane to save time and to avoid the cold bus ride of 380 miles from Clear Lake, Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota.

Shortly after take off the small plane crashed into an Iowa field killing three of the brightest stars of their generation; Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson.

Investigators concluded that the crash was due to a combination of poor weather conditions and pilot error.

Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) 1936 - 1959


Buddy Holly, 22 years old at the time of his death, released only three albums in his lifetime, but his recordings and work would continue to be released decades after his death. Rock greats Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton all mention Buddy Holly as an influence on their career.

Buddy Holly achieved major rock and roll stardom in his very brief career and is best known for the songs "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day."

Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) 1941 - 1959

Ritchie Valens was a pioneer of the Spanish speaking rock and roll movement. Although his career was cut short, Ritchie Valens was 17 years old at the time of his death, Valens had several hits and is best known for the songs "La Bamba" and "Oh Donna."

The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.) 1930 – 1959

J. P. Richardson, Jr. better known as The Big Bopper was 28 years old at the time of his death.  The Big Bopper was a rock music innovator who coined the term "music video" in an article back in the fifties and created  the first rock video. 

Richardson is the songwriter of "Running Bear" sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959, and is best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace" one of the most-played songs of 1958.

‹ 1970s Rock Legends Who Died in Their Prime up Rock Music History: Lynyrd Skynyrd Suffers Great Losses in Tragic Crash ›
  • Printer-friendly version

Tales of the Guru

  • Rock Music History
    • Rock Music History: The Greatest Rock Bands British Roots
    • The Greatest Rock and Roll Drummers
    • 1970s Rock Legends Who Died in Their Prime
    • Rock Music History: The Day the Music Died
    • Rock Music History: Lynyrd Skynyrd Suffers Great Losses in Tragic Crash
    • Rock Music History: Tragic Aircraft Crashes Claim Many Stars
  • Philosophyguru's journey through the world of classic movies
  • Musical Explorations of Philosophyguru the Tao of Questy
  • The Philosophyguru

Site Links

  • Books
  • Feed aggregator

Twitter Updates

Follow us on twitter

Questy

Promote Your Page Too

Powered by Drupal

Copyright Tom Peracchio, Guru 42, A guru is a spiritual teacher, 42 is the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.


 

  • Copyright
  • Tom Peracchio
  • Brain Dumps Blog
  • Technology History
  • The Tao of Questy
  • It's Only Sports
  • American Philosopher