Today marks 64 years since “The Day the Music Died”.
On February 3, 1959, three rock and roll musicians lost their lives on a cold, wintry night. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, along with pilot Roger Peterson. Holly was 22, Valens was 17 and Richardson was 28.
The three rock and rollers boarded the chartered plane after a show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake to avoid traveling on a cold tour bus to their next stop in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The plane crashed in a field shortly after takeoff.
In 1971, singer-songwriter Don McLean memorialized the day of the crash in his hit song “American Pie”. It was inspired by the memories of his childhood and the sorrow he felt when he heard the tragic news.
