This day in history is a sad one. On Feb 3, 1959, three rising rock stars were killed in a plane crash.
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Booper” Richardson were killed when their Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashed in Iowa. Their pilot, Roger Peterson, was also killed in the crash.
All died too young: Holly was 22, Valens 17, Richardson 24 and their pilot only 21-years-old.
Investigators said the crash was due to bad weather and pilot error.
Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day.” Many of Holly’s songs became famous after his passing. Richardson was known for the rockabilly hit “Chantilly Lace” and his radio persona “The Big Bopper”. Although only a teenager, Valens was already a huge star, thanks to his hits “Come On, Let’s Go,” “Donna” and “La Bamba.”
Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit “American Pie,” which refers to February 3, 1959 as “the day the music died.”
