More: Remembered for connection to rock tragedy, Clear Lake's Surf Ballroom wins National Historic Landmark designation Don McLean's 'American Pie' and other pop culture references to 'the day the music died' Holly’s death pushed authorities to adopt the policy of not revealing a victim’s identity until the family receives notification, Time reported. In the wake of the psychological trauma, she suffered a miscarriage the next day. Holly’s pregnant widow, María Elena Holly, heard the news of his death on a television report. Taking off into wintry conditions just before 1 a.m., the plane crashed roughly 6 miles northwest of the airport. 3, 1959, after their concert at the Surf Ballroom during the Winter Dance Party tour. 15, 2019, in Clear Lake where their plane crashed on Feb.

u0022the Big Bopperu0022 Richardson sits in the field on Tuesday, Jan. Sick with the flu, Richardson asked Waylon Jennings, Holly’s bassist at the time, for his seat on the plane.Ī memorial to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Valens and Holly guitarist Tommy Allsup flipped a coin for a spot on the plane. The plane was to take three members of the tour to Fargo, North Dakota, a neighboring city to Moorhead. Tired of a grueling tour schedule and hopeful for a decent night’s sleep, Holly chartered a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza from Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City. More history: From the archives: Remembering 'the day the music died' in Iowa Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and tour members in plane crash north of Clear Lake 2, 1959, at the Surf Ballroom - a last-minute addition to the route. Tour buses, traveling 300-plus miles on a given night through the frozen rural Midwest, broke down often, leaving the musicians sick and frostbitten.įollowing earlier Iowa appearances in Davenport and Fort Dodge, the tour stopped Feb. Some called it the tour from hell, with routing that zig-zagged from Wisconsin to Minnesota to Iowa and back again to Minnesota. The tour, a run of Midwestern ballroom and auditorium shows booked for roughly three-and-a-half weeks, kicked off Jan. Holly, age 22, Richardson, 28, and Valens, 17, were marquee talent on the Winter Dance Party tour, each having found respective radio success with “That’ll be the Day,” “Chantilly Lace” and “La Bamba.” More: Sorry, 'American Pie,' but the music didn't die in Clear Lake. It was deemed 'the day the music died' by Don McLean in the 1971 acoustic opus “American Pie.'

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