BUDDY HOLLY DIES IN PLANE CRASH
Clear Lake, Iowa (JFK+50) On February 3, 1959, rock singer Buddy Holly* was killed in an airplane crash along with Ritchie Valens, J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson.
The Beechcraft Bonanza carrying the three men crashed into a frozen cornfield shortly after takeoff. Holly and his band, 'The Crickets', had just reached #1 on the charts with 'That'll Be The Day.'
In 1972, Don McLean memorialized Buddy Holly with his song 'American Pie.' The lyrics include these words...
'I can't remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride. But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died."
*Charles Hardin Holley [Holly] (1936-1959) was born in Lubbock, TX to a musical family & made his first TV appearance in 1952. CHH opened for Elvis Presley in 1955. His band's 'That'll Be The Day' and 'Peggy Sue' were recorded in 1957.
