A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn't take one more step.
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
- American Pie by Don McLean.
At around 1:05 AM on the morning of February 3rd, 1959 - fifty years ago nearly to the moment - a plane carrying four men crashed in a dark Iowa cornfield. No one saw or heard the crash, and it did not make front page news in many cities. I doubt anyone at the time, even the families involved, realized that people fifty years later would mourn the losses of that day.
CHARLES HARDIN HOLLEY, AKA BUDDY HOLLY, AGE 22
RICHARD STEVEN VALENZUELA AKA RITCHIE VALENS, AGE 17
J.P. RICHARDSON, AKA THE BIG BOPPER, AGE 28
(PILOT) ROGER PETERSON, AGE 21
Rest in peace gentlemen. Your music lives on.
