The Day That Music Died

Today is February 3rd, marking the 57th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the life of one of the most influential musicians of all time. Don McLean’s classic “American Pie,” tells only part of the story, so let’s share a few more details of that fateful night now widely known.

Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens all died in a plane crash (the day the music died February 3rd, 1959), but it was singer Tommy Allsup who lost the coin toss that put Buddy on the flight.

Not widely known is that Dion of ‘Dion and the Bellmonts’ had joined the tour a few stops earlier, and Dion was asked if he wanted to also fly with the passengers that fateful night. Dion weighed the $35 dollar expense, and decided to save his money and take the bus.

Waylon Jennings was also one of the original scheduled passengers of the flight, but Waylon let J.P Richardson (The Big Bopper) have his seat, as The Bopper was fighting a bad cold, and the thought of being on a cold bus for hours didn’t appeal to him. In one of the cruelest moments in rock history, J.P. told Waylon “Well, I hope your ol’ bus freezes up.” Jennings responded: “Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes.” Waylon would continue to tell friends that what he said haunted every remaining day of his life.

The cause of the crash was listed as operator error, as Roger Peterson, the pilot, had only obtained his license in a written exam, and had no experience with ‘instrument only’ conditions.

Buddy’s young bride learned about her husbands’ death from a TV bulletin, was six months pregnant at the time of the accident, and would eventually have a miscarriage. Maria Elena has yet to visit the grave site, and is currently living in Dallas, Texas at the age or 83.

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