the day the music died

greenfire

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 8:13 pm

Feb 3, 1959 - the day the music died ... as did 3 famous singers one of whom was Ritchie Valens - a 17 year old who has become famous for his "la bamba" & what a song it is ... "bye bye american pie" Music

Barbara

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 8:20 pm

*I can't remember if I cried when I read about his [Buddy Holly's] widowed bride, but something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.*

It didn't even make the front page of most newspapers. What a different world it was.

greenfire

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 9:13 pm

but they have newsreel sounds in the background of the song ...

I'm not exactly old enough ... but I always love "la bamba" - they said on the radio that he would have been the "latin elvis" had he lived ...

and definitely sad for everyone ...

Quote:

In January 1959, Ritchie was booked for the now-infamous "Winter Dance Party" tour, along with Dion and the Belmonts, Buddy Holly, and J. P. Richardson (known as the "Big Bopper"). The tour was a gruelling series of one night stands that eventually brought them through the North-Central part of the United States. The tour bus developed heating problems, and Holly's drummer, Carl Bunch, came down with frostbite. When they arrived at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, they were cold and tired. After their performance on February 2nd, Buddy chartered a small plane for himself and his remaining backup musicians -- Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup -- as transportation to the tour's next gig in Moorhead, Minnesota. Jennings gave his seat up to Richardson, who was running a fever and had trouble fitting his stocky frame comfortably into the bus seats.

When Ritchie heard of Buddy's intended flight, he tried to convince Allsup to give up his seat. Tommy didn't want to but finally agreed to flip a coin to decide who would go, provided he could use The Big Bopper's new sleeping bag if he lost. The Big Bopper agreed. Allsup flipped the coin, and Ritchie called "heads". "Heads" it was. Valens won the seat...and Allsup won the rest of his life.

The three stars arrived at the airport about 12.40 a.m. and were met by their 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson, and Jerry Dwyer the owner of the plane. It was a little before 1 a.m. when the single engine aircraft took off in a blinding snow storm. Peterson was inexperienced and was actually not supposed to fly under conditions requiring navigation by instruments, but did not see the special advisories concerning poor visibility. Peterson probably became confused in reading the unfamiliar gyroscope and may not have realised he was descending and not ascending. Just minutes after takeoff, the plane plunged into the ground.

The wreckage was spotted at approximately 9:35 a.m. the next morning when a worried Dwyer decided to investigate, after not having heard from the airport of destination. Holly and Valens lay twenty feet from the plane while The Big Bopper was thrown forty feet away. Ritchie Valens was just 17 years old. February 3rd, 1959 would become known years later, in a song called 'American Pie' by Don McClean as "The Day The Music Died".

Pineapple

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 9:49 pm

Pineapple

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 9:50 pm

Is that the right singer?

Aribenj

Wed, Feb 04 2009, 11:56 pm

I love that song. I always wanted to know what he was singing about, but apparently he never confirmed anything. Some people think he was singing about the day JFK was assassinated.

shosh

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 1:49 am

Such a sad story. Buddy Holly had only been married six months, and his wife, Maria, was at a very early stage of pregnancy when he died. Sadly, she miscarried.

Tamiri

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 1:55 am

One of our favorite songs here. Madonna's version is beautiful too.

shosh

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 2:41 am

While we're on the subject, Peggy Sue really exists and yes, she got married. Read this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_.....1.stm

Teacup9

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 3:47 am

I like the Big Bopper too. He sang "Chantily lace and pretty face, ponytale hanging down, wiggle and a walk, giggle and talk, makes the world go round, round round. There ain't nothing in the world like a brown eyed girl, she makes me act so funny, makes me spend my money, makes me feel real loose like a long neck goose, oh baby you know what I like"
Do not ask me how I just typed that from memory. I haven't heard the song in years, but when I was little I saw the musical The Buddy Holly Story. I can also type the FULL version (often radios play a condensed version) of American Pie, but I'll refrain...
I don't think Madonna does it justice the way Don Mclean or a bunch of prepubescent kids at summer camp can.

The song is about JFK AND Ritchie Valley, the big bopper, and Buddy Holly. There are other people in the song like I think Dylan is "moss grows fat on a rolling stone" though I guess it could be the rolling stones. "while the King was looking down" is Elvis. I think JFK, MLK and someone else are "the father, son, and holy ghost" but I guess they could be the three musicians too.

I think it is about the end of happy go luck fun 50's music and the plane crash was in 59 so that worked well with the song. 60's music was strung out hippie music, war music, angry, and lonesome music. Just look at the difference between Dylan and Elvis or early and late Beatles. The Beatles went radical "Lennon read a book on Marx..." The funny thing is Mclean's song is very 60's.