'The Day the Music Died' - A look at the tragic death of three rock stars

'The Day the Music Died' - A look at the tragic death of three rock stars

Today, East Coast Gold remembers the tragic death of musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. 

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper/ YouTube screenshot

On February 3, 1959, the world learned of the sad passing of three rising stars. 

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, who was known as “The Big Bopper”, and their pilot, Roger Peterson, died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. 

The horrific tragedy happened just a few minutes after takeoff and killed everyone on board. 

READ: Tribute: Buddy Holly’s top hits

The musicians were on their way to the 'Winter Dance Party' tour across the Midwest. 

A year before the crash, the three musicians had reportedly sold over 10-million albums as a collective.

The tragedy inspired Don McLean's classic, 'American Pie', which has the phrase 'The Day the Music Died'.  

Below we look at some of the performances the rising young stars graced us with:

Award-winning East Coast Gold plays Classic Hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Listen to East Coast Gold via the ECR app or here. We’re also on various other platforms, including Alexa (just enable the ‘East Coast Gold’ skill); MyTuner, Radio Garden; iono.fm, Radioline or OpenRadio.

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