The Day the Music Died

February 3, 1959, 55 years ago today, was the Day the Music Died. It was the day that Rock and Roll icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash.

Buddy Holly’s band was touring 24 midwestern cities and featured Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. When traveling between Iowa and Minnesota, Holly hired a plane for some of the members of the tour. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper flew while the rest of the members took the bus. However, due to bad weather conditions and pilot issues, the plane crashed six miles away from the airport it took off from. All three passengers and the pilot were killed. 

Their deaths were announced on television before their family members were notified. Holly's wife, María Elena Holly, found out while watching tv. At the time, she was pregnant and the next day she miscarried due to the shock and trauma. After this incident, authorities never release victims names until family members have been notified. 

Buddy Holly is credited with being one of the most influential figures in early Rock and Roll. Artists influenced by Buddy Holly include the Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. 

The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, was a radio show host and broke the record for continuous on-air broadcasting by 8 minutes. In addition, he played guitar and wrote many songs. George Jones' country hit "White Lightning" was originally performed by The Big Bopper.

Like Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens was influential in early Rock. He was a forefather of the Chicano Rock movement. He is known best for his rock version of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba."

All three of these musicians were honored and immortalized by Don McLean's song "American Pie." While he does not specifically name them, it mentions the plane crash.