The Stars Still Shine

Happy Friday All,


Okay, before I get to today's subject, let me just say up front, it's bittersweet. But, it's something that's on my mind, so I figured I'd go ahead and chat about it with y'all today.

Lately I’ve been on a 1950’s music kick; specifically listening to the music of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. I was watching documentaries about these 3 stars when I realized something…

The anniversary of the plane crash is this Sunday. 54 years ago on  February 3, 1959, three of the biggest stars in Rock n’ Roll history died.

Buddy Holly was a 22 year old from Lubbock, Texas. He’d been a star for a little over a year. He decided (for whatever reason...documentaries say one thing, and this website says something else, however this article as well as this other article both back up the claim that they didn't have much money; so I don't know what's fact or fiction) to go on The Winter Dance Party tour.

Ritchie Valens was barely out of high school as a 17 year old kid from the San Fernando Valley. He had several hits in just 8 months. He went on the Winter Dance Party to promote his music.

J.P. Richardson, aka The Big Bopper, was a 28 year old disc jockey from Beaumont, Texas. He he had wife, a five year old daughter, and his wife was six months pregnant with his son. It was a big opportunity for him, so he joined the Winter Dance Party.

In the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, they took off from a small airport in Clear Lake, Iowa. They weren't in the air very long before their plane crashed in a nearby cornfield.

Yet, their music lives on.

And, what is it about their music that excites us? Sparks the imagination? Makes us feel?

In some ways, it's the snappy beats, such as Bopper's Chantilly Lace, or Ritchie Valens's La Bamba. Or it can make us fall in love, like Buddy Holly's True Love Ways. Sometimes it's just plain fun. Whatever the reasons, their music, and music in general, can touch us...inspire us, make us dance, cry, laugh, set a romantic mood, or just make us feel content.

These 3 rockers inspired many, many musicians, and continue to do so.

They've been immortalized in books and movies, and even music. Back in the 1970's, Don McLean wrote the song, American Pie (a song I happen to like, by the way).

So on and off I like to sit and listen to their music. They've inspired me, made me laugh, made me feel, and sometimes, it's just pure fun.

So...you tell me...

Has their music, or any music for that matter, inspired you? If so, how and who inspires you?

Have A Fabulous Friday!