My sister can officially call herself old. (Not that I’m that much of a spring chicken myself….)
It’s been fifty years today since a small airplane crashed in a cornfield in Clear Lake, Iowa, killing the pilot and his passengers: rock ‘n roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, the Big Bopper. The event became an iconic watershed for some, including an acoustic-rock singer named Don McLean; he looked at the legacy of his hero Holly, and where the music Holly helped popularize had headed, and he wrote a song about the years since “the day the music died.”
I’m hesitant to rehash the facts here; they are quite available already, from a Wikipedia article to goleor other sites, and it would just be reinventing the wheel. Many of those facts have acquired the patina of legend: the winter tour, the coin flip, the jocular “cursing” of each other by Holly and Waylon Jennings…. I will simply add here something that was noted on today’s Morning Edition: that Buddy would be just in his seventies if he had lived, and perhaps rocking to this day, as the people he inspired (such as the surviving Beatles and the Rolling Stones) do in their sixties. As for the art he practiced…well, some say that it died the death some time back as well, or has mutated beyond all recognition; but there are still young practitioners of true rock out there, such as Atlanta’s Tim Brantley. Maybe Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper would still see hope for their beloved music.
===== * =====
Peace be to you.
2 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
I have heard the song by Don McLean 100s of times and many others have covered it. Regarding dead of music, I think it’s just one generation of music has died where another is born (and is growing up).
Hats off pals J.P.Richardson,Valens and Holly.That plane crash to the north of Clear Lake has evolved into a cultural milestone and it can be clearly seen from the epic song “American pie” by Don McLean in 1971, that emerged as a great success.
Thou, The Day the Music Died evokes pain for many involved, but younger generations have increasingly used the Clear Lake anniversary and made the pilgrimage to Iowa as a means to connect with the spirit and sound of 1950s rock rather than as a somber memorial visitation.