Fifty Years Ago Today

One of the earliest and greatest tragedies of the rock era occurred on February 3, 1959, when the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) went down in a snowstorm (I guess we can at least be thankful that Dion wasn't also on that flight). The poster above advertised the the show they were supposed to give that night in Moorhead, Minnesota. I consider Buddy Holly to be one of the major figures of early rock and roll, establishing a precedent to be followed by many in the sixties of not only writing his own material (guys like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino were also doing that) but also moving into producing his own recordings. If you've never seen The Buddy Holly Story starring Gary Busey in the lead, check it out. It's not entirely accurate, but it sure does seem to capture something of the time, and Busey's performance is electrifying. Valens and Richardson also made some timeless music, and if they weren't quite as prolific as Holly before they died, it hardly diminishes the sense of loss at what they might have contributed had they lived. I'll see if I can find some clips to post later on.