I was just nine years old on the morning of February 3, 1959, when I heard about the plane crash that took the lives of 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 17-year-old Ritchie Valens, and 28-year-old J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson earlier that morning. It would be many years later before I learned the pilot of that fateful flight was 21-year-old Roger Peterson. The crash has been known as The Day The Music Died since Don McLean’s 1971 classic song “American Pie.”
I remember I didn’t cry when I heard the news but I did feel a sense of loss. I was familiar with songs by all three recording artists: “That’ll Be The Day” and “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly; the Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace”; and “Oh Donna” and “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens.
I felt a connection to them through their music and I had recently become acquainted with death through the passing of my younger brother David. Their deaths were as hard for my 9-year-old self to understand as was the death of my brother.
Over the years curiosity has driven me to learn about the events leading up to that ill fated flight, perhaps seeking to understand why four young men in the prime of their lives had to die so needlessly.
Much has been written over the years about why Buddy Holly chartered a plane to take him, Waylon Jennings, and Tommy Allsup to Fargo, ND ahead of the next show in Moorhead, MN. Much also has been written about how J.P. Richardson and Ritchie Valens wound up on the plane instead of Jennings and Allsup.
For me, however, the story started back in October of 1958.
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Buddy Holly decided in October of 1958 to part ways with Norman Petty, his manager and record producer. There were a number of reasons behind his decision. One was his marriage to Maria Elena Santiago on August 15, 1958. Buddy met Maria in June 1958 when he stopped to meet with Murray Deutch, his music publisher based in New York City. Maria was Murray’s receptionist. It was love at first sight for both of them. He took her out to dinner and proposed to her the same day he met her.
The marriage to Maria Elena was a factor in Buddy’s plans for his future in the music business. He had always planned to keep his hometown of Lubbock, TX as the base of operations for him and his group, the Crickets. But Maria Elena’s home was in New York City and increasingly Buddy and the Crickets were spending more time there due to the demands of the music business. Buddy believed New York offered more opportunities for him.
Moreover, Buddy and the Crickets had been using Petty’s studio in Clovis, NM. The sound produced in that studio no longer worked for Buddy.
Norman Petty was also the manager – individually and collectively – for both Buddy Holly and the Crickets (Jerry Allison and Joe B. Mauldin). He also managed their finances and arranged for all their royalties to be deposited into a bank account in his name. The money did not flow out of the account to Buddy, Jerry, and Joe as fast as it flowed in.
The Crickets initially agreed with the decision to part ways with Petty, who also seemed to take the decision well. But that would soon change when Buddy asked for the royalties from the songs he wrote. He was counting on the royalties so he could set up shop in New York and have money for him and Maria Elena to live on.
Petty said it would take some time before a payment could be made as an accounting had to be done first to ensure Jerry Allison and Joe B. Maudlin got their fair share. In truth, it was later discovered that Petty’s financial records were a mess and it was likely he was never going to be able to make a payment to adequately pay Buddy he was owed.
October and November came and went. Christmas was approaching and still no royalty payments were sent to Buddy by Norman Petty. Desperate for money to live on, Buddy approached promoter Irving Feld of General Artists Corporation (GAC) who suggested a tour of mid-west cities that were anxious for rock ‘n’ rollers to come to their cities.
And so Buddy agreed to headline the 1959 Winter Dance Party Tour. Ordinarily, a tour like this to minor cities, no matter how music-starved they were, would have been beneath Buddy. It was the type of tour usually reserved for beginners, for those still trying to build a name for themselves. But Buddy needed money and the truth was his songs had not made the charts in several months. The tour would provide the money he needed and help promote some of his newer material.
The lineup for the Winter Dance Party was short but impressive:
- Buddy Holly
- Dion and the Belmonts
- Ritchie Valens
- The Big Bopper
- Frankie Sardo.
The weather in mid-January 1959 was not auspicious, yet as the lineup gathered in Chicago on January 20 the pervading mood was one of optimism. It was not long into the three-week tour before the mood soured.
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The material in this series is derived from many sources, including Rave On by Phillip Norman; The Day The Music Died by Larry Lehmer; and The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, 3rd Edition.
