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Remembering Buddy Holly
3rd February 1959
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played
their last concert at Clear Lake Surf Ballroom, Iowa,
on 2nd February 1959.
At 00.55 early the next morning they took off from
Mason City, Iowa, and their plane crashed in a snow-storm
several minutes later. The day the music died.
Links Buddy Holly Ritchie
Valens Big Bopper
Ritchie Valens was born Rchard Valenzuela, on 13th
May 1941.
He was just 17 years old when he died on that infamous
day of 3rd February 1959 (the day the music died). He
perished on a snowy night near Clear Lake, Iowa, in the
plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly, the
Big Bopper and the pilot of their small plane.
Ritchie Valens was no aspiring artist, he had just
attained three straight US hit records.
These records were "Come On, Let's Go", and
the double sided "Donna" / "La Bamba"
. This was no mean feat at a time when top hit records
depended upon massive record sales and it has been achieved
by few other artists.
His hit "Donna" was about a childhood sweetheart,
Donna Ludwig. The record was "covered" as was
the trend at that time by Marty Wilde (father of Kim Wilde)
in the UK. "Come on, Let's Go" was been covered
in the UK by Tommy Steele.
Ironically, it was the B-side of his hit "Donna"
that became probably his best known song and subsequently
the title of a film about his life, La Bamba. The Los
Lobos re-make hit number one in both US and UK.
..... and he was just 17 years old.
BUY Ritchie Valens Albums and CD's
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Quick ticket links for current
UK rock music concert and tour dates for 2010 (click artists below)
