Their relationship had moved shockingly fast — she was a receptionist working for one of his publishers, and on their first date he excused himself, bought her a rose, and proposed | After Richardson took the second seat, Valens decided he'd like to fly on the plane as well |
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McLean has been notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to revealing what the song is actually about, and according to , there's only a few things people seem to agree on — its a lament for the loss of the American dream amid the chaos of the 1960s, a downward spiral with a beginning marked by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J | After flying about five miles, witnesses back at the airport saw the plane's tail light slowly descending before completely disappearing |
Buddy Holly and his band, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, were playing their Winter Dance Party tour across the States.
11Valens and Richardson each created a couple famous hits still featured in oldies collections, and could very well have had long, successful careers if they survived | I was two weeks pregnant, and I wanted Buddy to stay with me, but he had scheduled that tour |
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Within a matter of months, reports he recorded his first hit — "Suzie Baby" — and signed with Liberty Records | Aerial searches conducted the next morning found the plane in a snow covered farm field |
Still, his contributions to music were staggering, and it's impossible to imagine what he would have done had he lived to the ripe old age he should have.
It wasn't the first time misery descended, either, and Holly historian Bill Griggs says, "The tour from hell — that's what they named it — and it's not a bad name | Along with his band The Crickets, he had many hits including 'Peggy Sue', 'That'll Be the Day' and 'Everyday' |
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It emerged that Peterson had over four years of flying experience, of which one was with Dwyer Flying Service, and had accumulated 711 flying hours, of which 128 were on Bonanzas | According to , local acts were brought in to fill the slots of those killed in the plane crash, and some of those last-minute fill-in acts ended up becoming massive stars in their own right |
What they may have done, had they lived, is unimaginable.
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