The American guitarist, singer and songwriter Ritchie Valens was just eight months into his music career when he joined Buddy Holly and J P Richardson on the “Winter Dance Party” tour across the Midwest. Buddy decided to charter a 1947 single-engined, V-tailed Bonanza to fly from Clear Lake, Iowa to Fargo, North Dakota and avoid the 365 mile drive onboard an unheated tour bus. Richardson had contracted the flu during the tour and asked Jennings for his seat on the plane, while Tommy Allsup lost his seat to Ritchie on a coin toss. After seeing he had won the coin toss, Ritchie, aged 17, is apocryphally said to have remarked, “That’s the first time I’ve ever won anything in my life.” Shortly after midnight on February 3, 1959, the pilot lost control of the plane in bad weather and it crashed into a cornfield, hitting the ground at 170 mph. Buddy and Ritchie were thrown from the plane as it cartwheeled across the frozen terrain, breaking into pieces.
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Song: Santo & Johnny – “Sleepwalk” (1959)
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Love this everyone is posting
the day the music died. Ava
The Day the Music Died
You left this part out . Who gave up their seat on the plane for Ritchie Valens?
On this day, Richardson had convinced band member Waylon Jennings to give up his seat, and Ritchie Valens secured a seat on the plane by winnings a coin toss. The plane crashed in Mason City, Iowa, only a few minutes after taking off.
Bonanza has a pretty gnarly stain on its name thanks to this.
To sad