February 3, 1959

[oldman]

Yesterday, February 3, 1959, is often referred to as "The day the music died." I wanted to post this yesterday, but it slipped my mind. This is the day when in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) and Ritchie Valens were killed in an airplane crash when pilot Roger Peterson flew their plane into the ground. At 21 years of age, the young pilot was not IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) certified.

At night, when a pilot flies below the clouds and cannot see the sky (no stars are visible), it is not difficult for them to lose sight of the horizon and not be able to tell the ground from the sky, unless the plane goes inverted. The plane that Roger was flying back in that time period did not have what we call an attitude indicator or a Gyro. It's the little gauge in front of the pilot that shows the sky and the ground. Back in those days, most small planes just had a bubble, like a level, to show them the attitude of the plane.

Yesterday, it was 60 years since that fateful day and it needed to be recognized by all of us that loved the music and still do. If you want to hear what I believe to be the true story of what happened and how the three men who were selected to go on the plane; here is an interesting version by Dion. You can make up your own mind.

 

[Lord Elpus]

Whichever version one prefers,oldman; it's certainly a shame that Buddy Holly & Hank Marvin never had the chance to play together.
I truly think,had it happened,it would've been an iconic type of guitar music that survived to this day.

 

[Tommy]

Thank you, oldman. I found that look into history fascinating. I was only ten years old when that crash happened, but a few years later Dion was certainly a part of my early interest in rock and roll music.

 

[Pinky]

Excellent video. Dion still has what it takes.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

Great video oldman. I remember hearing about the crash on the radio. Dion mentioned the Teterboro airport. When I was a kid I could walk to that airport. My Grandpa and I often did just to watch the planes land. Remember when Aurther Godfrey buzzed that tower with his plane? There was quite an uproar about that.

My best girlfriend was the president of the Dion fan club in our area back in the 50s. Quite an honor as I remember. She had so many glossy photos of him. She lived and breathed Dion. Great memories.

 

[oldman]

The video brought back a lot of memories. Some years later after Dion and The Belmonts had split up and when Dion went it alone, I became interested in his music. I read an article about him in one of my sister's teen magazines and I found out that the name The Belmonts came from the name of the street where they lived in New York, Belmont Avenue, which I believe is in the Bronx. The reason for their breakup was because the group wanted to continue doing harmonizing while Dion had more of a passion for Blues type music.

Ruth----I had forgotten all about Arthur Godfrey's venture into Teterboro Airport when he buzzed the tower. Back when I started with United, I flew the Boeing 737 and I had flown into Teterboro a few times. Actually, I never liked any of New York's airports. The skies were always crowded and the airports were also. I had to always worry about getting an open gate to park the plane.

Dion went on to have a fairly successful career and from everything that I ever heard about him, he is a likable guy. Buddy Holly was said to have been ahead of his time back when he started producing his own recordings. He inspired many other singers and songwriters and still does today. Ritchie Valens would probably have been a bigger star had he lived longer.

Why they ever got on an airplane with Peterson, I will never know, but it's my guess that they took the word of the owner of the airport, whose name evades me at the moment, that he was a competent pilot. I remember Peterson being a kind of troubled young man that had bounced around from job to job quite a bit before settling in at Mason City Airport. It had been stated that the plane no sooner took off to the south and while the plane was turning north, a cold front was rapidly moving in and Peterson probably just lost his bearings, so to speak. At that point, my guess would be that the plane probably went inverted before going into the ground. Everyone died instantly, I'm sure. "Spatial Disorientation" is also what is assumed to have killed J.F.K., Jr.

I just found out that the owner of the airport was Jerry Dwyer. He set up the flight with Peterson.

 

[Laurie]

Thank you.

I posted about it last year, but it slipped past me this year. Truly the day the music died.