A turning point in rock and roll history that Don McLean sang about in his song American Pie has strong ties to Texas. It was the “Day the Music Died,” when rock legends Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Jiles Perry Richardson – better known as “The Big Bopper” – were lost in a tragic plane crash.
Richardson, Valens and Holly were performing on a concert tour called the “Winter Dance Party,” that started in January 1959 with Dion and the Belmonts. It wasn’t very well organized and the musicians traveled from town to town in a reconditioned school bus – remember the ones with no heating? It wasn’t a great time of year to be traveling in one of those! The bus was so cold that the men often huddled together under blankets to share warmth. Holly’s drummer Carl Bunch suffered frostbite on his feet and had to miss the performance that would be Holly’s last.
Between the unbearable cold, sleepless nights and lack of clean clothes (the guys were never in one town long enough to take care of the chore) Holly decided he’d had enough after their show in Clear Lake Iowa, and rented a private plane for $108 to fly he and his bandmates – guitarist Tommy Allsup and bassist Waylon Jennings (yep -THAT Waylon Jennings!) – to their next concert date in Minnesota. They even took everyone’s laundry with them on the plane.
But then a serious of events took place – some understandable, some quirky – that led to disaster.
As the threesome were loading into a station wagon to drive to the airport just after midnight, Holly asked Jennings to run back into the Surf Ballroom to confirm they had all of their gear. Jennings ran into Richardson who had been battling a terrible cold, and agreed to let him ride on the plane instead. Jennings went to the car to retrieve his bag and tell Holly about the switch, and Holly joked that he hoped he would freeze on that bus. Jennings joked back that he hoped the plane would crash. A quip he would later regret.
In the meantime, Valens had repeatedly asked Allsup if he could have the other seat on the plane, but was turned down. Worn down after Valens pleas, Allsup finally said he would flip a coin to see who got the last seat on the plane. Valens chose “heads,” and won the seat.
Just after 1 a.m. on February 3, 1959 in 15° weather, the three passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off with Buddy Holly, 22; Ritchie Valens, 17; J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, 28; and 21-year old pilot Roger Peterson. Though the pilot had been flying for four years, it was later thought that he didn’t have the experience necessary to fly into the oncoming blizzard conditions.
The aircraft crashed into a field five miles away.
In the 12 months before the plane crash the three musicians combined had sold over 10 million albums.
Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper were both Texans, and here are a few Lone Star State sites you can visit to celebrate their memory:
PORT ARTHUR
Museum of the Texas Gulf Coast
Among the exhibits in the halls of this museum is an impressive Music Hall that includes items from The Big Bopper’s career, and the Winter Dance Party tour.
BEAUMONT
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
LUBBOCK
Buddy Holly Center
Large black Holly-style glasses and historical marker outside of the Buddy Holly Center, which contains the Buddy Holly Gallery and the most extensive collection of Buddy Holly artifacts in the world.
Eight and a half foot tall statue of the musician on
Cricket Street between 18th and 19th Streets.
Crickets Avenue (named after band Buddy Holly was in) and
glasses crosswalk at intersection of 18th Street.
Lubbock City Cemetery
As you enter the cemetery, follow signs to the resting place of Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holley. The the Holley was shortened to Holly for the stage.
Have you ever planned a trip around music history? Texas has plenty to offer!
