THE TRUE KING BUDDY HOLLY

Transcription

1 THE TRUE KING BUDDY HOLLY BY Jack Hodgins Page 1 of 69

2 I dedicate this to the man who kept Buddy Holly s legends alive DON Mclean This book has been made in to a film called NOT FADE AWAY. Go to JACK HODGINS FILMS (YouTube) to watch now. JACK HODGINS FILMS All right reserved, jack Hodgins music company, Page 2 of 69

3 Book MADE BY More books at Jack Hodgins books website. TO FIND OUT MORE GO TO JACK HODGINS MUSIC COMPANY WEBSITE Page 3 of 69

4 1930 October 24-Jiles Perry Richardson (the big bopper), Jr is born In Sabine Pass, Texas, U.S Sept 7, 3:30 pm Charles Hardin Holley is born to Ella and Lawrence Odell Holley on Labor Day at the family s home in Lubbock TEXAS. Holly was born in to a musical family as he learned to play guitar and to sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music and rhythm and blues. From early childhood, he was nicknamed "Buddy". Page 4 of 69

5 1941 -may 13 Richard Steven Valenzuela is born in Pacoima, California to Joseph Steven Valenzuela and Concepcion Reyes. Ritchie Valens was brought up hearing traditional Mexican music (AS he was of Mexican descent) as well as flamenco guitar, R&B and jump blues. Five-year-old Buddy enters a talent contest along with his older brothers Larry and Travis. he won the $5 first-place prize singing Down the River Of Memories. Page 5 of 69

6 1945 October 2, born. Donald McLean III is 1946 Valens expressed an interest in making music of his own by the age of 5, and he was encouraged by his father to take up guitar and trumpet, Even though Ritchie was left-handed, he was so eager to learn the guitar that he mastered the traditionally righthanded version of the instrument At age 11, Buddy took piano lessons, but abandoned them after nine months. He switched to guitar after he saw a classmate playing and singing on the school bus. Buddy's parents initially bought him a steel guitar, but he insisted that he wanted a guitar like his brother's. His parents bought the guitar from a pawn shop and Travis taught him to play it. Richardson graduated from Beaumont High School and played on the "Royal Purple" football team as a defensive lineman, wearing number 85. Page 6 of 69

7 1949 Buddy s first recording is My Two-Timin Woman, a Hank Snow song, which he sang into a wire recorder. Richardson worked part-time at Beaumont, Texas, radio station KTRM. He was hired by the station full-time and quit college By the age of five McLean had developed an interest in all forms of music and would spend hours listening to the radio and his father s records April 18- Richardson marries Adrianne Joy Fryou. television. Buddy makes his first appearance on local 1953 Richardson daughter Debra Joy was born in December 1953, soon after he was promoted to supervisor of announcers at KTRM. September radio station KDAV in Lubbock begins broadcasting what is considered the first all-country music format in the United States. The Sunday Party aired by Hipockets Duncan. Buddy teams with Jack Neal to form the duo Buddy and Jack, and their show is broadcast live from KDAV during The Sunday Party Page 7 of 69

8 1954 Jack Neal marries ending buddy and jack, Holley teams up with Montgomery to form Buddy and Bob. The Buddy and Jack Show is replaced by the Buddy and Bob Show on The Sunday Party. Feb. 19 Holley, Montgomery, and Larry Welborn perform Flower Of My Heart, a song written by Bob, for a contest at Lubbock High School. The song wins the competition and is chosen as the 1954 Senior Class Song. Page 8 of 69

9 1955 Feb. 13 Holley and Montgomery open for Elvis Presley at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, after opening for Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for him three times that year and his band's style went from country and western to entirely rock and roll. March Richardson is drafted into the United States Army and did his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He spent the rest of his two-year service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. May 27 Holley graduates from Lubbock High School. Page 9 of 69

10 Oct When Holley opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, Holly was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Dec. 2-3 Eddie Crandall writes to Dave Stone (radio station KDAV manager) asking for exclusive rights to help Holley obtain a recording contract. Crandall sends Stone a telegram asking that Holley and his group send him a recording of four original songs. Page 10 of 69

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13 1956 Jan Holley negotiated a recording contract with Decca and a three-year songwriter s contract with Cedarwood Publishing Co. Feb. 8 Holley receives Decca s contract from Jim Denny of Cedarwood Publishing. Holley s name has been misspelled, inadvertently dropping the e in Holley. As a result, Holley adopts the Holly spelling for his last name. April Decca released "Blue Days, Black Nights" as a single, with "Love Me" on the B- side. July 22 Holly, Curtis, Guess, and J.I. Allison are in Nashville for the second Decca recording session at Bradley s Barn. The song list from the session includes I m Changing All Those Changes, Girl On My Mind, Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Ting-A-Ling and That ll Be The Day. Nov. 15 Holly is in Nashville for the third and final recording session with Decca at Bradley s Barn. Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Modern Don Juan, and You Are My One Desire are recorded. Page 13 of 69

14 1957 Albums November -The "Chirping" Crickets When Valens was sixteen years old, he was invited to join a local band, the Silhouettes, as a guitarist, and when the main vocalist left the group, Ritchie assumed this position. Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley But Holly was unhappy with Bradley's restrictions and the results of their work, and then went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, where, among other songs, they recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day". Petty became the band's manager and he sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to "The Crickets", which became the name of Holly's band. Page 14 of 69

15 Jan. 22 Decca sends Holly a letter informing him that his renewal option is not being exercised and his contract will expire on Jan. 26, JAN.31 Valens had a fear of flying due to a freak accident at his Pacoima Junior High School when, on January ,, two airplanes collided over the playground, killing or injuring several of his friends. Valens had been at his grandfather's funeral that day so that was a lucky escape of what could have been the end for him. Page 15 of 69

16 ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT At approximately 1118, 1 January 31, 1957, a Douglas owned and operated DC-7B( N 821OH)and a U. S. A. F. owned and Northrop operated F-89J,( OA), collided at 25,000 feet 2 over the San Gabrial Mountains about three miles northwest of Sunland, California. The DC-7 crashed at the playground of the Pacima Junior High School,, California, killing three students and injuring 70 others. The four crew members, sole occupants of the aircraft, were killed. The F-89 crashed in the Verdugo Mountains southeast of the collision position, killing the pilot. The radar operator of the F-89, though severely burned, parachuted to safety. Both aircraft were destroyed. Probable Cause The Board determines that the probable cause of this midair collision was the high rate of near head-on closure at high altitude which, together with physiological limitations, resulted in a minimum avoidance opportunity during which the pilots did not see the others aircraft. Page 16 of 69

17 Feb Holly travels to the Norman Petty Studio in Clovis, N.M., and records I m Looking for Someone to Love and the hit version of That ll Be The Day. February-March Holly is restricted from recording any of the songs that were done under his contract with Decca. A name is needed in order to release the new version of That ll Be the Day. They searched through an encyclopaedia under Insects in order to find a name for the band. They consider briefly, and then discard The Beetles before selecting The Crickets. March 19 The Crickets sign a contract with Bob Thiele in which Coral, a subsidiary of Decca, agrees to purchase masters for That ll Be The Day and I m Looking For Someone To Love. Following his discharge as a corporal in March, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 am to 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday. One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot, and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen the college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Richardson soon became the station's program director. Page 17 of 69

18 May 27 That'll Be the Day" is released, with "I'm Looking For Someone To Love" on the B-side. In May, the big bopper broke the record for continuous on-air broadcasting by 8 minutes. From a remote setup in the lobby of the Jefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont, Richardson performed for a total of five days, two hours, and eight minutes, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during 5-minute newscasts. July 1 Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Listen To Me, and I m Gonna Love You Too are recorded in Clovis. July 16 That ll Be The Day has sold 50,000 records, and an additional 28,000 have been pressed. That evening, Holly goes to see Little Richard perform at Lubbock s Cotton Club. July 23 Bob Thiele sends a registered letter to inform The Crickets that Coral will renew their recording contract. July 30 Holly signs a contract for a 67-day tour package beginning in September. Page 18 of 69

19 Aug. 2-8 Buddy Holly and The Crickets begin their first major tour at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., where That ll Be The Day is No. 2 on the charts. Aug Buddy Holly & The Crickets perform at the Apollo Theater in New York City, The group did not impress the black audience, but they were accepted after they included "Bo Diddley" in their shows. Aug. 26 Buddy Holly & The Crickets perform That ll Be The Day on Dick Clark s American Bandstand in Philadelphia. Sept. 21 Cash Box features a cover photograph of Buddy Holly & The Crickets pointing to a circled date of Oct. 1, That ll Be The Day is expected to pass the 1 million mark in sales on this date. Two days later Billboard lists That ll Be The Day as the No. 1 Best Seller in stores. In the last week of September, the band members flew to Lubbock to visit their families. Page 19 of 69

20 Nov. 29 Sid Varnes, Cash Box s editor-in-chief, sends a telegram to The Crickets informing them that the Juke Box Operators of America have voted them Most Promising Vocal Group of November the album Chirping Crickets was released; it reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Dec. 1 Buddy Holly & The Crickets perform That ll be the Day and Peggy Sue on The Ed Sullivan Show Dec. 4-5 Buddy Holly & The Crickets return to Lubbock. Niki Sullivan leaves the group, citing the harsh tour schedule as his reason. Norman Petty signs contracts for Buddy Holly & The Crickets to participate in three tours. Dec. 17 and 19 Little Baby, Look At Me, and (You re So Square) Baby I Don t Care are recorded in Clovis. Page 20 of 69

21 1958 Albums Buddy Holly-March That ll be the day- April The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Daily from Houston. Daily was promotion director for Mercury and Starday Records and signed Richardson to Mercury. Richardson's first single, "Beggar To A King", had a country flavor, but failed to gain any chart action. He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label. Mercury bought the recording and released it in the summer of It reached #6 on the pop charts and spent 22 weeks in the national Top 40. Ritchie Valens performs a concert at the junior high school he d attended. The show is recorded and released in 1960 as Ritchie Valens Live at Pacoima Junior High. A self-taught musician, he often improvised new lyrics and added new riffs to popular songs while he was playing. This is an aspect of his music that is not heard in his commercial studio recordings. Page 21 of 69

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23 Jan. 2 Norman Petty signs a contract for Buddy Holly & The Crickets to perform on tour and in radio promotions in Australia, beginning Jan. 30. Jan. 25 Bob Thiele of Coral presents Holly and Petty with the gold record for Peggy Sue. Rave On and That s My Desire are recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York. Jan. 26 Buddy Holly & The Crickets perform Oh Boy on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York City. Jan Buddy Holly & The Crickets travel from Hawaii to Sydney, Australia, for a six-day tour. Jan. 31 In Newcastle, Australia, Pat Barton, a local deejay, interviews Buddy. During the interview, Buddy denies that The Crickets, or any group, will fill Elvis Presley s shoes while he is in the Army. Page 23 of 69

24 Feb Buddy Holly & The Crickets join The Big Gold Records Stars tour. The tour also stars the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley and The Comets And Jerry Lee Lewis, By February, the band toured England, playing 50 shows in 25 days for 41 dates. The same month, his debut solo album, Buddy Holly, was released. Upon their return to the United States, Holly and the Crickets joined Alan Freed's Big Beat Show tour March 25 Before the second show scheduled in Hammersmith, London, the last performance of the English tour, Mauldin knocks the caps off of Holly s two front teeth during a scuffle. Buddy repairs the damage with chewing gum and performs the second show with the gum spread over his front teeth. May 27 Buddy Holly & The Cric kets record It s So Easy and Lonesome Tears in Clovis. The next day, Heartbeat is recorded,. Brunswick releases the single Think It Over and Fool s Paradise. Page 24 of 69

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26 Bob Keane, the owner and president of small record label Del-Fi Records in Hollywood, was given a tip in May 1958 by San Fernando High School student Doug Macchia about a young performer from Pacoima by the name of Richard Valenzuela. Keane went to see Valenzuela play a Saturday morning matinée at a movie theater in San Fernando. Impressed by the performance, he invited him to audition at his home in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, where he had a small recording studio in his basement. After this first audition, Keane signed Ritchie to Del-Fi on May 27, At this point the musician took the name "Ritchie" because, as Keane said, "There were a bunch of 'Richies' around at that time, and I wanted it to be different." Keane recommended shortening his surname to Valens from Valenzuela in order to widen his appeal beyond any obvious ethnic group. June 9-18 Holly and Petty fly to Los Angeles for a promotional tour, and are photographed at Southern Music Publishing in Hollywood. Petty return to Lubbock, Holly flies to New York where he meets Maria Elena Santiago at Peer Southern Music. Holly asked Santiago out on their first meeting, and proposed marriage to her on their first date. The wedding took place on August 15. Page 26 of 69

27 After several songwriting and demo recording sessions with Keane in his basement studio, Keane decided that Ritchie was ready to enter the studio with a full band backing him. The first songs recorded at Gold Star Studios, at a single studio session one afternoon in July 1958, were "Come On, Let's Go",. Pressed and released within days of the recording session, the record was a success. Valens's next record, a double A-side, the final record to be released in his lifetime, had the song "Donna" with "La Bamba". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Aug. 15 Buddy Holly and Maria Elena Santiago are married at the Holley home in Lubbock. Petty disapproved of the marriage and advised Holly to keep it secret to avoid upsetting Holly's female fans. Holly s record, Now We re One, is played at the ceremony. The Hollys and the Allisons honeymoon for two weeks in Acapulco, Mexico. Santiago accompanied Holly on tours. To hide her marriage to Holly, she was presented as the Crickets' secretary. She took care of the laundry and equipment set-up, and collected the concert revenues. Santiago and her aunt Provi Garcia, executive of the Latin American music department at Peer-Southern, convinced Holly that Petty was paying the band's royalties from Coral-Brunswick into his own company's account. Holly planned to retrieve his royalties from Petty and to later fire him as manager and producer. At the recommendation of the Everly Brothers, Holly hired lawyer Harold Orenstein to negotiate his royalties Page 27 of 69

28 The problems with Petty were triggered after he was unable to pay Holly. At the time, New York promoter Manny Greenfield reclaimed a large part of Holly's earnings; Greenfield had booked Holly for shows during previous tours. The two had a verbal agreement; Greenfield would obtain 5% of the booking earnings. Greenfield later felt he was also acting as Holly's manager and deserved a higher payment, which Holly refused. Greenfield then sued Holly. According to New York law, because the royalty proceedings of Holly were originated in New York and directed out-of-state, the payments were frozen until the dispute was settled. Petty then could not complete the transfers to Holly, who considered him responsible for the missing profit. All this would eventually lead to buddy doing the winter dance party tour. In autumn, Valens quit high school to concentrate on his career. Keane booked appearances at venues across the United States and performances on television. Vales eventually overcame his fear enough to travel by airplane for his career. He went to Philadelphia to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show on October 6, where he sang "Come On, Let's Go". Oct. 28 Buddy Holly & The Crickets appear on Dick Clark s American Bandstand on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia. Introducing Holly, Clark calls him, a man who creates songs, Buddy lip-syncs Heartbeat and It s So Easy. Dec. 11 In a letter to his parents, Holly relates: I ve been writing a few songs. Some of them are fairly good. The best one to date is a top secret one titled Peggy Sue Got Married. Please don t mention it to anyone either. I want it to be a complete surprise. Page 28 of 69

29 Dec. 27 While at KLLL radio station in Lubbock, Holly is prompted by a bet to write a song in less than 30 minutes. Holly composes You re The One, which is recorded on the station s acetate machine. Buddy sings and plays guitar, while Waylon Jennings and Ray Slim Corbin, the station s deejays, provide percussion with handclaps. Valens returned to Philadelphia and American Bandstand, this time performing "Donna" Page 29 of 69

30 Albums The Buddy Holly Story Released: February 28 Ritchie Valens (March) Ritchie (October ) Ritchie Valens signs a contract with Super Enterprises and General Artists Corporation, Valens returns to Gold Star Studios for what would be his last recording session before the Winter Dance Party With the success of "Chantilly Lace", Richardson took time off from KTRM radio and joined Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts for a "Winter Dance Party" tour starting on January 23, Page 30 of 69

31 Jan Holly, Tommy Allsup, Waylon Jennings and Carl Bunch leave New York and travel by train to Chicago to rendezvous with the other artists on the Winter Dance Party tour. From Chicago, the artists are scheduled to travel by bus on the tour route. Other performers include: Ritchie Valens, J.P. The Big Bopper Richardson, Dion and The Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo. jan. 23 The Winter Dance Party starts the tour with performances in Milwaukee. The tour will continue through Feb. 15 with scheduled stops in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio. Feb. 1 The Winter Dance Party is stranded route to Appleton,, when the bus breaks down. With temperatures at 30 degrees below zero and no source of heat, the passengers burn newspapers in the aisles to keep warm. Sheriffs cars pick up the freezing entertainers and Carl Bunch is admitted to the hospital suffering from frostbite. With one performance cancelled, the Winter Dance Party continues and performs at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. Page 31 of 69

32 Feb. 2 Holly, On the 11th night of the tour (Feb 2, 1959), the musicians played the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The musicians had been traveling by bus for over a week, and it had already broken down twice. They were tired, they had not been paid yet, and all of their clothes were dirty. The chartered flight would allow them to avoid another arduous bus ride, arrive early before the Moorhead show, do their laundry, and get some rest..feb. 3 Shortly after the performance in Clear Lake, Holly, J. P. The Big Bopper Richardson and Ritchie Valens board a small aircraft chartered to take them to their next performance. Soon after take-off, the plane crashes, killing all aboard. Valens was on the plane because he won a coin toss with Holly's backup guitarist Tommy Allsup. Holly's bassist, Waylon Jennings, voluntarily gave up his seat on the plane to J.P. Richardson, who was ill with the flu. Page 32 of 69

33 Holly s signature black-rimmed glasses had landed in a snow bank and were discovered in the spring of 1959, after the snow melted. They were brought to the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff s office, sealed in a manila envelope and forgotten about for 21 years. Upon discovery, the glasses were returned to his widow and are currently on permanent display at the Buddy Holly Center in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas Page 33 of 69

34 At the time of his death, Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home in Beaumont, Texas, and was also planning to invest in a radio station. He had written 20 new songs he planned to record himself or with other artists. Buddy would still go on to inspire many people including the Beatles, the rolling stones, bob Dylan, Elton john and many more. His widow bride shortly after the plane crash had miscarriage. Buddy would latter inspirer don McLean to write the song American pie. For a short career he has such a big legacy. Rip buddy holly. Valens was only just started but in those 8 months he had built a very good career for himself it s a shame that it was cut short. Page 34 of 69

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37 This is the Crash Report Aircraft Accident Report On February 3, 1959 a Beech Bonanza, N 3794N, crashed at night approximately 5 miles northwest of the Mason City Municipal Airport, Mason City, Iowa, at approximately 1pm, February 3, The pilot and three passengers were killed and the aircraft was demolished. The aircraft was observed to take off toward the south in a normal manner, turn and climb to an estimated altitude of 800 feet, and then head in a northwesterly direction. When approximately 5 miles had been traversed, the tail light of the aircraft was seen to descend gradually until it disappeared from sight. Following this, many unsuccessful attempts were made to contact the aircraft by radio. The wreckage was found in a filed later that morning. This accident, like so many before it, was caused by the pilot s decision to undertake a flight in which the likelihood of encountering instrument conditions existed, in the mistaken belief that he could cope with en route instrument weather conditions, without having the necessary familiarization with the instruments in the aircraft and without being properly certificated to fly solely by instruments Page 37 of 69

38 The following night they were to appear in Moorhead, Minnesota. Because of bus trouble, which had plagued the group, these three decided to go to Moorhead ahead of the others. Accordingly, arrangements were made through Roger Peterson of the Dwyer Flying Service, Inc., located on the Mason City Airport, to charter an aircraft to fly to Fargo, North Dakota, the nearest airport to Moorhead. After an extensive air search, the wreckage of N 3794N was sighted in an open farm field at approximately 0935 that morning. All occupants were dead and the aircraft was demolished. The field in which the aircraft was found was level and covered with about four inches of snow. The accident occurred in a sparsely inhabited area and there were not witnesses. Examination of the wreckage indicated that the first impact with the ground was made by the right-wing tip when the aircraft was in a steep right bank and in a nose-low attitude. It was further determined that the aircraft was traveling at high speed on a heading of 315 degrees. Parts were scattered over a distance of 540 feet, at the end of which the main wreckage was found lying against a barbed wire fence. The three passengers were thrown clear of the wreckage, the pilot was found in the cockpit. Page 38 of 69

39 Although the aircraft was badly damaged, certain important facts were determined. There was no fire. All components were accounted at the wreckage site. There was no evidence of inflight structural failure or failure of the controls. The landing gear was retracted at the time of impact. The damaged engine was dismantled and examined; there was no evidence of engine malfunctioning or failure in flight. Both blades of the propeller were broken at the hub, giving evidence that the engine was producing power when ground impact occurred. The hub pitch-change mechanisms indicated that the blade pitch was in the cruise range. Despite the damage to the cockpit the following readings were obtained: Battery and generator switches were in the on position. Page 39 of 69

40 The Aircraft The aircraft, a Beech Bonanza, model 35, S/N- 1019, identification N 3794N, was manufactured October 17, It was powered by a Continental model E185-8 engine. The aircraft was purchased by the Dwyer Flying Service, July 1, The tachometer r.p.m. needle was stuck at Fuel pressure, oil temperature and pressure gauges were stuck in the normal or green range. The rate of climb indicator was stuck at 3,000-feetper-minute descent. The airspeed indicator needle was stuck between mph. The transmitter was tuned to 122.1, the frequency for Mason City. Page 40 of 69

41 Pilot Roger Arthur Peters, 21 years old, was regularly employed by Dwyer Flying Service as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and had been with them bout one year. He had been flying since October of 1954, and had accumulated 711 flying hours, of which 128 were in Bonanza aircraft. He fail an instrument flight check on March 21, 1958, nine months prior to the accident. His last CAA second-class physical examination was taken March 29, According to his associates, he was a young married man who built his life around flying. Analysis It is believe that shortly after takeoff pilot Peterson entered an area of complete darkness and one in which there was no definite horizon; that the snow conditions and the lack of horizon required him to rely solely on flight instruments for aircraft attitude and orientation. The high gusty winds and the attendant turbulence which existed this night would have caused the rate of climb indicator and the turn and bank indicator to fluctuate to such an extent that an interpretation of these instruments so far as attitude control is concerned would have been difficult to a pilot as inexperienced as Peterson. Page 41 of 69

42 Conclusion At night, with an overcast sky, snow falling, no definite horizon, and a proposed flight over a sparsely settled area with an absence of ground lights, a requirement for control of the aircraft solely by reference to flight instruments can be predicated with virtual certainty. The Board concludes that pilot Peterson, when a short distance from the airport, was confronted with this situation. Because of fluctuation of the rate instruments caused by gusty winds he would have been forced to concentrate and rely greatly on the attitude gyro, an instrument with which he was not completely familiar. The pitch display of this instrument is the reverse of the instrument he was accustomed to; therefore, he could have become confused and thought that he was making a climbing turn when in reality he was making a descending turn. The fact that the aircraft struck the ground in a steep turn but with the nose lowered only slightly, indicates that some control was being effected at the time. The weather briefing supplied to the pilot was seriously inadequate in that it failed to even mention adverse flying conditions which should have been highlighted. Page 42 of 69

43 Probable Cause The Board determines that he probably cause of this accident was the pilot s unwise decision to embark on a flight which would necessitate flying solely by instruments when he was not properly certificated or qualified to do so. Contributing factors were serious deficiencies in the weather briefing, and the pilot s unfamiliarity with the instrument which determines the attitude of the aircraft. Page 43 of 69

44 Buddy Holly s Death Certificate From the Coroner s Report dated Feb. 4, 1959 The body of Charles H. Holley was clothed in an outer jacket of yellow leather-like material in which 4 seams in the back were split almost full length. The skull was split medially in the forehead and this extended into the vertex region. Approximately half the brain tissue was absent. There was bleeding from both ears, and the face showed multiple lacerations. The consistency of the chest was soft due to extensive crushing injury to the bony structure. The left forearm was factured 1/3 the way up from the wrist and the right elbow was fractured. Both thighs and legs showed multiple factures. There was a small laceration of the scrotum. Personal effects found with the body are listed on a separate sheet in this report. Fingerprints were taken of the deceased for purposes of identification. Ralph E. Smiley, MD Acting coroner Cash $ less $11.65 coroner s fees $ (2) cuff links, silver 1/2 in. balls having jeweled band, Top portion of ball point Page 44 of 69

45 The bag,, contained a roll of adhesive tape, a toothbrush, a half-used tube of Colgate toothpaste, a hairbrush and a comb), a jar of Dusharme lanolin hair sheen, a Remington shaving powder stick, Sea And Ski tanning cream, a small bottle of Anacin, a small clothes brush used to remove lint, a tube of Chapstick lip gloss, a packet of five Ronson lighter flints with two missing a Ban lotion deodorant tube, and a few other assorted items, most in pieces. Page 45 of 69

46 1960 Albums: The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2 Released: April 1960 In Concert at Pacoima Jr. High (December) The first Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance is held at El Mante Legion Stadium A Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert is held at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, in Long Beach, California. On the bill are the youthful Beach Boys, making one of their earliest appearances Albums Ritchie Valens Memorial Album (December When Don McLean was 15, his father passed away. Fulfilling his father's request, McLean graduated from Iona Preparatory School in He briefly attended Villanova University, dropping out after four months. While at Villanova he became friends with singer/songwriter Jim Croce. Page 46 of 69

47 1963 Albums Reminiscing Released: February By age 16 DON had bought his firstguitar a Harmony acoustic archtop with a sunburst finish and began making contacts in the music business Don also found time to attend night school at Iona College and, in 1968, graduated with a Bachelor s degree in Business Administration but turned down a prestigious scholarship to Columbia University Graduate School in favour of becoming resident singer at Caffe Lena in NY. Page 47 of 69

48 1968 In 1969, Don recorded his first album, Tapestry, in Berkeley, CA. The student riots were going on outside the studio door as Don was singing And I Love You So inside. The album was first released by Mediarts and attracted good reviews and achieved some commercial success American Pie Recorded May 26, 1971 Released November 1971 (for more info on American pie (the song) Jack Hodgins books is going to release a book on the meaning of it) Page 48 of 69

49 1978 The Buddy Holly Story Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release dates May 18, 1978 Budget $1.2 million Box office $14.3 million The actors did their own singing and played their own instruments. Gary Busey in particular, was admired by critics for recording the soundtrack music live and for losing a considerable amount of weight in order to portray the skinny Holly. According to Busey's biography, he lost 32 pounds to look more like Holly, who weighed 146 pounds at the time of his death. The film received many positive reviews from critics and fans alike. But Holly authorities and other music scholars criticized what they deemed gross inaccuracies in the plot, such as showing a physical confrontation at Holly's first Nashville session when nothing of the sort actually occurred. Another inaccuracy is that the guitars used by Gary Busey's character in the film are different, with Holly's main guitar being a Fender Telecaster. Buddy Holly only used a Fender Stratocaster in real life. Page 49 of 69

50 Although he is seen playing a Stratocaster towards the end of the film, the guitar is depicted as a 1973 model and not a 1950s model. The Crickets, after watching the film, appreciated it but gave a thumbs down on their portrayal, calling it "horrible" due to many reasons. The band sold their portrayal rights to the producer of a different Buddy Holly movie prior to filming so fictitious names were used for legal purposes. The three Crickets were reduced to two members, omitting Niki Sullivan. Sonny Curtis, Bob Montgomery, Don Guess & Larry Welborn were written out of the film altogether and never depicted. Crickets drummer Jerry Allison was devastated upon seeing the film and voted his portrayal as negative, due to his fictional counterpart, drummer Jesse Charles, being somewhat of an alcoholic, as well as being racist) and generally profane. Page 50 of 69

51 1980 March, a long-missing piece of the plane crash is discovered La Bamba Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release dates July 24, 1987 Budget $6,500,000 Box office $54,215,416 The popular film biography of Ritchie Valens, La Bamba, opens nationally. Lou Diamond Phillips is cast in the lead role, and Los Lobos soundtrack recording of La Bamba becomes a #1 hit. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $5,698,884. La Bamba eventually grossed $52,678,820 in the United States in 12 weeks. Valens' mother, Connie, died in 1987 andis buried alongside him A U.S. postage stamp is released, honoring the late buddy holly and Ritchie Valens Page 51 of 69

52 2001 Ritchie Valens is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the sixteenth annual induction dinner January Jay requested that his father's body be exhumed and an autopsy be performed to settle the rumors that a gun was fired or that Richardson initially survived the crash. The autopsy was performed by Dr. Bill Bass, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee. Jay was present with Dr. Bass throughout the autopsy and observed as the casket was opened; both men were surprised to find the remains well enough preserved to be recognizable as those of the late rock star. "Dad still amazes me 48 years after his death, that he was in remarkable shape," Richardson told the Associated Press. "I surprised myself. I handled it better than I thought I would". Page 52 of 69

53 Dr. Bass's findings indicated no signs of foul play. He was quoted as saying, "There are fractures from head to toe. Massive fractures...[richardson] died immediately. He didn't crawl away. He didn't walk away from the plane". After the autopsy, Richardson's body was placed in a new casket, then was reburied next to his wife in Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery. Jay then allowed the old casket to be put on display at the Texas Musicians Museum December Jay Richardson announced that he would be placing the old casket up for auction on ebay, giving a share of the proceeds to the Texas Musicians Museum, but downplayed the suggestion in later interviews The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along with the Surf Ballroom and Museum in Clear Lake, Iowa commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Day the Music Died with a tribute concert August March 3- it was announced that the National Transportation Safety Board, the successor to the Civil Aeronautics Board, had agreed to consider reopening the investigation into the accident. A final decision may not be made until 2016 Jay Richardson "Big Bopper, Jr." dies at the age of 54 Page 53 of 69

54 SOURCES Image credits (not all the owners could be found): COVER PAGE 4 Buddy holly House Website: kfyo.com Owner: Julie Fisher PAGE 5 Image 1 Baby Richie Valens WEBSITE: timetoast.com OWNER: UA Image 2 five year old buddy WEBSITE: PINTEREST- ranker.com OWNER : UA IMAGE 3 Larry and Travis holly WEBSITE: Owner: Randy Holley (used with permison) Page 54 of 69

55 PAGE 6 IMAGE 1 8 Year old don mclean Website: don-mclean.com Owner: Don McLean Image 2 The big boper 1947 UN PAGE 7 Image 1 My timin woman record WEBSITE: Ebay OWNER:recordsafariauctions IMAGE 2 13 year old buddy WEBSITE: Youtube - Michel Rock IMAGE 3 Buddy and jack Website: BUDD HOLLYLIVES.info OWNER: jack neal (used with permison) PAGE 8 IMAGE 1 Buddy and bob live 1954 Website: lets keep the 50s sprit alive. OWNER: UA IMAGE 2 BUDDY AND BOB live 2 Website: scottymoore.net/lubbock.html OWNER: UA (used with permission) Page 55 of 69

56 PAGE 9 IMAGE 1 Elvis and buddy holly Website: scottymoore.net/lubbock.html Photo: Steve bonner (used with permission) Image 2 Buddy and bob Website: scottymoore.net/lubbock.html Photo: bill Girggs Image 3 Year book buddy holly Un PAGE 10 Image 1 Bill Haley and his comments WEBSITE: scottymoore.net/lubbock.html OWNER: Lubbock Public Library Image 2 Buddy and Elvis UN PAGE Year book 1955 Website: Buddyhollylives.info OWNER: Ian Higham (used with permission) Page 13 Image 1 Blue days black nights OWNER: Decca records Image 2 Buddy holly ad OWNER: Decca records Page 56 of 69

57 Image 3 Buddy recording 1956 OWNER: Decca records PAGE 14 Image 1 The chirping cricket s album OWNER: Brunswick records IMAGE 2 Buddy holly and the crickets autographs UA IMAGE 3 Buddy holly iconic photo OWNER: Getty images Hulton PAGE 15 IMAGE 1 Ritchie Valens 16 years WEBSITE: joangushin.net OWNER: Barbara Joan Gushin Phots used with permission. Image 2 Newspaper, plane crash WEBSITE: russellbuchanan.wordpress.com Image 3 Plane crash WEBSITE: joangushin.net OWNER: Barbara Joan Gushin Phots used with permission. Page 57 of 69

58 PAGE 16 WEBSITE: joangushin.net OWNER: Barbara Joan Gushin Phots used with permission. PAGE 17 IMAGE 1 Buddy with his car WEBSITE: Buddyhollylives.info OWNER: Gary Clevenger IMAGE 2 Beatles with buddy Holly glasses UA IMAGE 3 The big bopper at the radio WEBSITE: c3entertainment.com OWNER: c3entertainment.com PAGE 18 IMAGE 1 record owner: Decca records IMAGE 2 That ll be the day music cover OWNER: Brunswick records Image 3 that be the day record OWNER: Brunswick records PAGE 19 image 1 Apollo poster WEBSITE : Icolleter.com Page 58 of 69

59 Image 2 buddy holly on American bandstand website: today-is-their-birthday.blogspot.com.au image 3 Tv programme clip -buddy on American bandstand WEBSITE: buddyhollylives.info Owner: Ian Higham (used with permission) PAGE 20 IMAGES OWNER: ED SULIVAN SHOW ( SOFA ENTERTAINMENAT) PAGE 21 image 1 buddy holly albam OWNER: coral records IMAGE 2 that ll be the day album OWNER: Decca records IMAGE 3 Ritchie Valens Website: youtube Eddie GM PAGE 22 Pacoima Junior High School Concert Contract - Ritchie Valens WEBSITE: buddy holly lives OWNER: Gerd Muesfeldt (used with permission) PAGE 23 image 1 poster website Pinterest - UA image 2 buddy holly ed Sullivan WEBSITE: buddy holly lives OWNER: Lothar (used with permission) PAGE 24 image 1 big gold record stars poster website: Pinterest -UA Page 59 of 69

60 image 2 uk poster OWNER: Getty images Image 3 Poster april 16 Website: Pinterest-UA IMAGE 4 buddy holly with jerry lee lewis website: Pinterest - UA PAGE 25 Website: buddy holly lives.info OWNER: Ian Higham (used with permission) PAGE 26 image 1 riche and chuck berry standing by a car WEBSITE: ritchievalens.com IMAGE 2 riche at a party UA image 3 website buddy holly lives Owner SID Avery (used with permission) PAGE 27 IMAGE 1 buddy holly wife website.startribune.com owner: Heritage Auction Galleries IMAGE 2 Buddy holly with wife and others UA PAGE 28 Ritchie with donna WEBSITE: geocities.ws PAGE 29 IMAGE 1 on American bandstand (Richie ) website dancetothesixties.nl Page 60 of 69

61 Image 2 Record signed by Buddy Holly WEBSITE: buddyholyylives.info Owner: Ian higham ( used with permission) PAGE 30 image 1 record Ritchie Valens OWNER: Del-Fi Records IMAGE 2 the buddy holly story OWNER: coral records IMAGE 3 Richie OWNER: Del-Fi Records Image 4 The big bopper website: dancetothesixties.nl Image 5 winter dace party bus WEBSITE buddy holly lives.info owner: Vic Harman PAGE 31 Image 1 buddy holly on a bus Owner: Lew Allen IMAGE 2 poster jan 30 WDPT WEBSITE: Pinterest IMAGE 3 poster feb 1 WDPT WEBSITE: Pinterest PAGE 32 IMAGE 1 FEB 2 POSTER WDPT UA IMAGES 2 buddy holly live 1959 UA IMAGE 3 buddy holly bus OWNER: Lew Allen Page 61 of 69

62 Image 4 newsapaer OWNER Mason City Globe-Gazette IMAGE 5 riche valens live pintrest.com- Theresa Griffith PAGE 33 Image 1 Glasses UA IMAGE 2 autograph signed by Ritchie Valens on the last night of his life Website Buddy holly lives.info OWNER: Ian higham PAGE 34 WDPT feb ONWER: vintageconcertposterbuyer.com IMAGE 2 winter Dance party feb 4 UA PAGE 35 Report on plane crash OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PAGE 36 plane crash OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PAGE 37 image 1 buddy, bopper, valens WEBSITE: chicagotribune.com OWNER :chicago tribune IMAGE 2 plane crash photo website: independent.co.uk/ OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board Page 62 of 69

63 PAGE 38 IMAGE 1 where bodies landed website:freerepublic.com OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board IMAGE 2 people on the seen website: documentingreality.com OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PAGE 39 IMAGE 1 plane crashed WEBSITE: abc.net.au OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board IMAGE 2 plane before crashing WEBSITE: lostflights.com owner: lostflights.com PAGE 40 IMAGE 1 roger peterson website:fold3.com IMAGE 2-3 OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PAGE 41 PLANE CRASH 1 documentingreality.com OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PLANE CRASH 2 documentingreality.com OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board PAGE 42 IMAGES 1-2 PLANE CRASH WEBSITE: documentingreality.com OWNER: Civil Aeronautics Board Page 43 image 1 big bopper live UA Page 63 of 69

64 image 2 buddy grave stone WEBSITE: wikiwand.com IMAGE 3 buddy holly WEBSITE: rockin50s.com OWNER: BILL GRIGGS IMAGE 4 marmoreal for the 3 WEBSITE: Wikipedia OWNER: Dennis Fernkes PAGE 44 IMAGE 1 newspaper WEBSITE: clickamericana.com IMAGE 2 buddy holly live 1959 UA PAGE 45 buddy holly over night bag WEBSITE:rockin50s.com OWNER: BILL GRIGGS IMAGE 2 WEBSITE: justcollecting.com PAGE 46 BUDDY HOLLT STORY VOL II OWNER: Coral IMAGE 2 Ritchie Valens In Concert at Pacoima Jr. High OWNER: Del-Fi Records IMAGE 3 the beach boys poster WEBSITE: amazon.com image 4 Ritchie Valens Memorial Album OWNER: Del-Fi Records Page 64 of 69

65 PAGE 47 IMAGE 1 Reminiscing OWNER: Coral IMAGE 2 don in 1963 WEBSITE: don-mclean.com OWNER don McLean Image 3 don in 1968 WEBSITE: don-mclean.com OWNER: Joseph duel PAGE 48 Image 1 Don in 1976 WEBSITE: Wikipedia OWNER: Herbert S Gart IMAGE 2 Don McLean OWNER: CENTRAL PRESS Image 3 American pie WEBSITE: gottahaverockandroll.com OWNER: United Artist PAGE 49 IMAGE 1 buddy holly story OWNER: Columbia Pictures IMAGE 2 BUDDY HOLLY STORY LA BAMBA Website: walmart.com IMAGE 3 BH Story WEBSITE: rottentomatoes.com PAGE 50 image 1 buddy s guitar Website: Wikipedia OWNER: John W. Schulze Page 65 of 69

66 IMAGE 2 magazine OWNER Rolling stone IMAGE 3 Autograph OWNER: poppowwow.com IMAGE 4 B.H story actor OWNER: Columbia Pictures PAGE 51 IMAGE 1-2 posters/dvd art OWNER: Columbia Pictures IMAGE 3 OWNER: soundtracksonvinyl.com IMAGE 4 grave Valens WEBSITE: wikiprda OWNER: Arthur Dark image 5 stamps US POTAGE PAGE 52 Coffin of big bopper WEBSITE: beaumontenterprise.com OWNER: the Richardson family image 2 bopper jr looking at his father WEBSITE: beaumontenterprise.com OWNERS: Ron Franscell/The Enterprise PAGE 53 POSTER 50 winters latter WEBSITE: twangville.com B.H story live on stage poster UA IMAGE 2 B.H on the Simpsons WEBSITE: simpsons.wikia.com OWNER: Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc. BACK COVER WEBSITE: Last.com Page 66 of 69

67 Sources (Info) (not all could be found) WIKIPEDA LUBBOCKonline.com URL: MxWBUTq0 OWNER: The Buddy Holly Center, 1801 Crickets Ave., Lubbock. Don McLean.com URL: OWNER: Alan Howard Joangushin.net URL: OWNER: Barbara Joan Gushin FIFTIESWEB.COM URL: OWNER: the Civil Aeronautics Board: James R. Dupree/ Chan Gurney/Harmar D. Denny/ G. Joseph Minetti/ Louis J. Hector URL: OWNER Ralph E. Smiley, M.D., Acting Coroner of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. All rights reserved, jack Hodgins music company, Page 67 of 69

68 Valens also inspired Jimi Hendrix, Chan Romero, Carlos Santana, Chris Montez, Keith O'Conner Murphy, Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys. During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the act that defined the traditional rock-androll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists and bands, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. He was among the first acts to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and later ranked by Rolling Stone at number 13 on its list of "100 Greatest Artists". Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died in a plane crash. Valens inspired Jimi Hendrix, Chan Romero, Carlos Santana, Chris Montez, Keith O'Conner Murphy, Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys. "Buddy Holly would have the same stature musically whether he would have lived or died, because of his accomplishments... By the time he was 22 years old, he had recorded some 50 tracks, most of which he had written himself... in my view and the view of many others, a hit... Buddy Holly and the Crickets were the template for all the rock bands that followed". Page 68 of 69

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