February 3rd is here again. Fifty Three years ago, the world lost three shining lights of early rock & roll. Around 1 AM, just outside of Clear Lake, Iowa, a plane crashed and took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (A.K.A. The Big Bopper).
In my three and a half years in Iowa, I have yet to visit the field where the crash took place, or the Surf Ballroom, where they played their final gig, and there's some part of me that feels like a bum for not having gotten there yet. That needs to be on my list of things to do this spring.
Last year on this date, I picked up the Memorial Collection. a 3 CD set of Holly's music. I'd owned a lot of it previously on various collections, but it was nice just to have it all in one place. This year, I picked up the 3 CD set of rarities that his estate has released. Both collections were released around the same time, and the coolest part of the rarities collection is that it includes all of Holly's "Apartment Tapes" that he recorded at home in New York in late 1958/early 1959. That will be a fascinating listen for sure.
I also picked up an inexpensive Ritchie Valens collection, when I realized that I didn't own anything by him. I figured that, as long as it has "Donna," "LaBamba," and "Come On, Let's Go," I should be in decent shape on that account.
There's so much more to say on this topic, but in order to do so (and do it well), I'll have to get my thoughts in order a bit more than they are right now.
"Now do you believe in rock 'n roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"
- Don McLean, "American Pie," 1971
There's another post in regards to "American Pie," but I think I'll save that for tomorrow night.
In my three and a half years in Iowa, I have yet to visit the field where the crash took place, or the Surf Ballroom, where they played their final gig, and there's some part of me that feels like a bum for not having gotten there yet. That needs to be on my list of things to do this spring.
Last year on this date, I picked up the Memorial Collection. a 3 CD set of Holly's music. I'd owned a lot of it previously on various collections, but it was nice just to have it all in one place. This year, I picked up the 3 CD set of rarities that his estate has released. Both collections were released around the same time, and the coolest part of the rarities collection is that it includes all of Holly's "Apartment Tapes" that he recorded at home in New York in late 1958/early 1959. That will be a fascinating listen for sure.
I also picked up an inexpensive Ritchie Valens collection, when I realized that I didn't own anything by him. I figured that, as long as it has "Donna," "LaBamba," and "Come On, Let's Go," I should be in decent shape on that account.
There's so much more to say on this topic, but in order to do so (and do it well), I'll have to get my thoughts in order a bit more than they are right now.
"Now do you believe in rock 'n roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"
- Don McLean, "American Pie," 1971
There's another post in regards to "American Pie," but I think I'll save that for tomorrow night.
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