The Day the Music Died

[vytoland]

I've had your Buddy Holly link playing in the background for the last couple hours while surfing the forum. I don't have this particular collection, so it has been a treat. Thank you.

What a talent and a lost opportunity for what this young man might have contributed to rock 'n roll during a longer life. How is it possible for a 22 year old to write those lyrics?

We lived just down the road from Lubbock when the plane crash happened. I was only 6 years old, but I knew who he was and it had an impact, partly because of my older sister. Buddy played at the sock hops at her high school. God, we're old!

buddy had a gift and used it well...........he influenced so many future recording artists, including bob dylan, john lennon, paul mc cartney, mick jagger......

buddy, little richard and chuck berry wrote many great rock n roll songs and kept our music alive through the ages......

 

[jokerl90]

Waylon speaks about the plane crash
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amUbKtIcXPo[/ame]

Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report
http://fiftiesweb.com/music/crash-report/

 

[msinc]

Waylon Jennings was Holly 's bass player. He gave up his seat on the plane to Holly. Another lucky fellow.

Not exactly, Holly is the one that chartered the plane, so he had a seat. He originally chartered the plane for himself, Jennings and Tommy Allsup. Jennings gave his seat to Richardson {The Big Bopper}, Allsup flipped a coin with Richie Valens and lost his seat. It was said "he lost the coin toss and won the rest of his life." This was somewhat disputed by Dion DiMucci, but the version the witnesses seem to all agree on is that of Tommy Allsup. Allsup later opened a bar he named "The Heads Up" Saloon. Buddy Holly made the remark in jest to Jennings "I hope your ole bus freezes" to which Jennings jokingly replied, "yeah well I hope your plane crashes." Less than an hour and a half later it did...it was said that this fact haunted Waylon Jennings the rest of his life.
The cause of the crash was listed as "pilot error"...the pilot was not yet qualified to fly on instruments and hadn't obtained his instrument rating. Coupled with the fact that the plane had just been fitted with a different type attitude gauge he was not familiar with caused the pilot to fly right into the ground at full speed.
Sadly, this would not be the first or last of such similar crashes...Patsy Cline was flown into the side of a mountain by a pilot that had not yet received his instrument rating.
An interesting fact about the Holly crash...it prompted the authorities to withhold names of the deceased until next of kin was notified first. Holly's widow miscarried when she heard the news and Valen's mother had a medical episode as well. Both heard it while listening to the radio the next morning.

 

[model70hunter]

I listened to the music and was shocked at the news.

My parents and adults who abhored rock did not seem fazed.

My Dad was a big band fanatic. Loved Glenn Miller. He always wondered what happened to Glenn.

when Dad was in his 60s I read an article in the paper. When our bombers were returning from an unsuccessful run they dropped the bombs in the english channel.

Glenn was on a small plane flying to France to play for GIs in France. His plane fles , ow, at the same time bombs were bsimg discarded. This info came to light when someone was doi g some AAF research. There was something else inxicatimg tbis but np longer remember. I was suprized, Dad became very emotional and the jumped into denial, why we wouldnt do this, they would have told us.

Dad had mentioned wanting to know but did not handle it well. At 12 I was much more co posed than that.