This Day In History

February 3rd 1959: The Day the Music Died

On this day in 1959 a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and their pilot Roger Peterson. The three were American rock and roll pioneers and thus Don McLean in his 1971 song ‘American Pie’ referred to the day as ‘The Day the Music Died’. The crash was concluded to have been caused by poor weather conditions and pilot error, as the pilot was not fully qualified to fly the kind of plane it was. Their music continues to be popular, and the three sang some of the most famous early rock and roll songs:

Buddy Holly & The Crickets - That’ll Be The Day

Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace

Ritchie Valens - La Bamba