15 celebrities who died too soon

9. Ritchie Valens. Richard Valenzuela, who went by the stage name of Ritchie Valens, was one of the progenitors of rock and roll music as we know it today. Even if you’ve never heard his name before, it’s impossible that you’ve never heard his hit song “La Bamba”. He died at the age of 17 in a tragic plane crash that also claimed the lives of early rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. The tragic event is immortalized in Don McLean’s famous song “American Pie”.