3. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson
This is an event so epic that it sparked a song, aptly titled “The Day The Music Died.” In the 1950s, rock and roll was truly taking off and rising up with slews of stars abounding. Buddy Holly was notable for his blond hair, large glasses and crooning out hits like Peggy Sue. Ritchie Valens was the first Mexican-American rock star, his fantastic energy coming out in songs like La Bamba and wining over Latino fans as well as crossing over to mainstream audiences.
J.P. Richardson was known as “The Big Bopper”, his rockabilly style winning over as he was growing in popularity. On February 3rd, 1959, the three were part of the “Winter Dance Party” tour across the Midwest, selling out several concerts. The musicians hated the tour bus in the cold winter road and so Holly decided to hire a private plane to fly them to Minnesota.
Waylon Jennings was to take part, but switched with Richardson, who was too ill to drive and Valens won a coin toss to Tommy Allsup to fly. Shortly after takeoff, the plane was overwhelmed by the wind and snow and crashed into a cornfield in Iowa, killing all on board. It was a devastating loss to the music world, three men in their primes taken and its legacy lives on in song since.
2. John Lennon
The Beatles helped change music as we know it. These four British rockers went from pioneering pop to some truly experimental work that shifted things up. They were huge stars, appearing in movies and their break-up a massive deal. They drifted to various work and clearly John Lennon was the star of the bunch. He and wife Yoko Ono were working on various albums with Lennon hailed for both his talent and working for peace with songs like Imagine becoming anti-war anthems.
He was working on a new album on the night of December 8th, 1980 when he and Ono were walking back to his New York apartment. Mark David Chapman, a disturbed man whose idolizing Lennon had turned to hate, opened fire, shooting Lennon four times. Chapman calmly sat and read A Catcher In the Rye before he was arrested. The first announcement of his death came from Howard Cosell during Monday Night Football, and millions of fans across the world mourned. Lennon was cremated and his ashes spread in Central Park as it’s wrong a man who talked of peace could meet such a harsh end.
Discussion about this post