February 2, 1959, Buddy Holly (Peggy Sue), Ritchie Valens (Oh Donna) and JP Richardson (Chantilly Lace), aka The Big Bopper, played their last show at the Surf Ballroom and died in an airplane crash shortly after the concert. The event has been called “The Day the Music Died” after being mentioned in the 1971 song, American Pie by Don McLean.
Always Looking for Adventure
I mentioned in a previous post that hubby and I are in Iowa. His work landed us in a very remote, very rural part of Iowa, a gazillion miles away from everything.
Everything that is, except the memory of the day when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash, along with the pilot, Roger Peterson.
Hubby had been rained out and called from the job to say he was headed back to the camper to get me. As usual, I was sleeping in, but he insisted on an early morning road trip to a surprise destination. So we jumped in the truck and headed out.
He loves surprising me with adventures. I think he spends his downtime looking for the next cool place for us to visit, and sure enough, he found another one. We are music lovers and this trip was going to be great!
The Winter Dance Party Tour
The date was 2 February 1959. The group of young musicians was embarked on The Winter Dance Party Tour of 1959. The tour zig-zagged across the Midwest with 24 shows in 21 days scheduled, almost all one night stands in different towns. All their traveling had been in a converted Baptist school bus, that had broken down numerous times. It was one of the worst winters on record, and the group was exhausted from ill-planned scheduling, and transportation problems.
The night before the Clear Lake, Iowa concert had been especially exhausting for the group. The bus had blown the engine and they were stranded for hours on the side of the road. Huddled together in a broken-down bus were 4 musical legends and their bands freezing in the 30-degrees below zero winter storm. There were finally rescued early the next morning by passing motorists. They were still over 300 miles from the next show.
Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake Iowa
Buddy Holly and his band, which consisted of Waylon Jennings (yes, that Waylon Jennings) and Tommy Allsup, arrived at the Surf Ballroom minutes before their show was to start. Carl, the drummer, had been hospitalized in the previous town for frostbite. Rising stars Ritchie Valens, JP Richardson aka The Big Bopper, and Dion, were also on the tour.
The group made it through the concert, playing before 1200 teenagers that had paid $1.25 a ticket for the show. Buddy Holly, frustrated and tired of the problems with the buses, decided to charter a plane to the next venue. The next concert was the following day 365 miles away.
A Chartered Plane
The chartered plane would hold 3 people plus the pilot at a cost of $108. Holly divided the cost and told Dion his share would be $36. Dion declined a seat on the plane because he couldn’t justify the $36 that was the same amount as the rent his parents paid on their house. Next inline, the tickets were offered to Allsup and Jennings.
The Big Bopper, JP Richarson, had the flu and badly needed rest. Waylon Jennings gave him his seat on the plane. Ritchie Valens, the youngest of the group at only 17, had never flown in a small plane and asked for the other seat and Allsup agreed to a coin toss. Valens won the toss and took Tommy Allsup’s seat on the plane.
In between acts, Buddy called his pregnant wife Maria Elena but didn’t mention the chartered flight. Maria had had a premonition that Buddy had been killed in a plane crash, and he didn’t want to worry her.
The Last Hour
The group boarded the 4-seater plane, along with the entire tour’s dirty laundry. They would arrive in Fargo, get some much-needed sleep, and do laundry. The rest of the group would follow in the bus and pick the others up at Fargo, ND and continue on to the next venue.
A little after 12:30 AM Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, JP Richardson (The Big Bopper) and the pilot, Roger Peterson prepared for takeoff.
Minutes before 1:00 AM the plane taxied down the runway and took off. When the pilot did not make the expected radio contact, the owner of Dwyer’s Flying Service, Jerry Dwyer knew something was wrong.
When the 4-seater Beechcraft Bonanza didn’t arrive at the Fargo ND airport, Dwyer flew over, retracing the lost plane’s path. He discovered the wreckage just under 6 miles from the airport. The plane went down, tumbling into a cornfield.
There were no survivors.
The Surf Ballroom Museum
The Surf Ballroom has become a see-all know-all for Rock and Roll enthusiasts. Wall after wall, are displays highlighting Buddy Holly and his band, in addition to the bands and other acts of Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
The original booths still lined the back and side of the concert hall.
This was the stage where the last concert was played. The ballroom was set up for a private event when we visited, and tables were on the dancefloor.
There was also the original telegram that Elvis Presley and Col Parker sent to JP Richardson’s family expressing their condolences.
Surf Ballroom is still a concert venue, and every year during the week of February 2, a Winter Dance Party is held in honor of the 3 musical legends that lost their lives that cold day in February.
The museum is at the top of our list for favorite Museums we have visited. Many Rock & Rollers make annual visits to the museum and the Buddy Holly Crash Site that is just a few miles away.
The Buddy Holly Crash Site
We actually went to the crash site first, as we had read about it in some of our brochures. We made our way down a country road to the Giant Buddy Holly Glasses that marked the spot for the trail to the crash site.
The actual crash site was in a field that was a half-mile trek from the roadside where we parked. I started down the path with my umbrella because the rain had started.
There was another couple also headed to the site ahead of me a few yards. As we neared the crash site, the woman ahead of me said, “I will take off my shoes and walk across the mud hole in front of the memorials. I can take pictures and send them to you. No need for all of us to get muddy!”
She did just that! The pictures of the actual crash site were taken by Teresa Broseh and shared with me with permission to include them in this blog. Teresa, I can’t express how much I appreciate your kindness to a stranger on a Buddy Holly pilgrimage.
We ran into Teresa and her husband again at the Surf Ballroom Museum.
A Day to Remember
Ok, Iowa! I have been frustrated to be in such a remote part of the world, but I must say my trip to Clear Lake was a day to remember. The sadness of the story will forever live in the hearts of Rock & Rollers. But thanks to the tributes of the Surf Ballroom that awful day in February was NOT the day their music died. Their contributions to Rock & Roll music will always be remembered.
To See Where I Party click here!
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