The
music died early on the morning on February 3, 1959, midway through
the
Winter Dance Party tour whose line-up included some of the
best rock and roll artists of the day. Headliner Buddy Holly had
chartered a four-seater Beechcraft Bonanza to fly him from Clear
Lake, Iowa to Fargo, North Dakota, taking along with him J.P
Richardson (aka the “Big Bopper”) and Ritchie Valens. Bad
weather, a pilot not certified for instrument flying and a new gyro
contributed to the 1 a.m. crash in an Iowa cornfield, killing all on
board instantly.
Charles Hardin Holley, 1936-1959 (Publicity picture for Brunswick Records, public domain)