"Man on the Moon" by R.E.M. He was invited to appear on "The Winter Dance Party," a rock package tour that also featured J.P. Richardson, a.k.a. For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy. Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside Clear Lake . The body of Jiles P. Richardson was clothed in a red checked flannel shirt and light blue cotton pants. Ritchies producer, Bob Keane, came over with a test pressing of what was probably Come On, Lets Go, which they played on Munsons record player. He was only 17 years old. The audition went very well and shortly afterward Ritchie Valen's first single 'Come On, Let's Go' was released in the summer of 1958. The following photos are some of the only to exist of the crash site in color. Failed to report flower. On Feb. 3, 1959, a Tuesday, Bob and some friends had just pulled into a hamburger stand on their lunch break when the radio broke the news about the plane crash. Her response? based on information from your browser. Still, Valens avoided planes after that although not the one he should have avoided. No one who died in the 1959 plane crash, that day the music died, was an old man. She is passionate about Princess Diana, the Titanic, the Romanovs, and Egypt amongst other things. At around 11:18 a.m., one fighter jet made a wide turn above the San Fernando Valley. Try again later. "I remember Ritchie saying he'd written this song for his girl, Donna, but I never heard anything else about her.". Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Ritchie Valens (1363)? On that plane, touring musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper") lost their lives, in addition to the aircraft's pilot, Roger Peterson. s City Auditorium for Redding's funeral, a week later. Donna's father didn't approve of the relationship, because, remember, this was the '50s: Donna was white, and Ritchie was Latino. The pilot himself, Roger Peterson, was just 21. Category: Richest Celebrities Rock Stars. That was a rough day, Munson says. Valens grew up in suburban Los Angeles in a . Friendly? People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. He thinks he took all the photos except for the one at graduation, which his mother shot. So he followed the hearse to San Fernando . Copyright 2023 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners. I didn't want a big thing made about it. Rolling Stone relates that in his eight-month career, Valens recorded 29 songs 21 of them he'd written himself. and president of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Fan Club; Paulina She was only 16 when Ritchie died. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted only eight months. We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Afterward a bunch of us hung out at his grave and just talked about him, Munson says. Valens attended school at Pacoima Junior High School near Los Angeles, which sat under a flight path. Munson had a Brownie camera, a boxy model with a built-in flash that was the starter camera of the era. "Sleep Walk" is an instrumental steel guitar-based song recorded and released in 1959 by brothers Santo & JohnnyThe song appears prominently at the end of the 1987 film, La Bamba, during Ritchie Valens' funeral and the subsequent scene of his brother, Bob, screaming Ritchie's name to the heavens. purchased just a few months earlier. Valens won the toss sort of. Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. The other was completely different "Donna," a sweetly crooned teen-idol type love song, performed in English, suitable for slow-dancing. Click to reveal However, he was not at school on January 31 because he was attending his grandfathers funeral. Hoover (Photographer) for their contribution to this page. BELOVED SON & BROTHERRICHARD STEVEN"RITCHIE VALENS"MAY 13, 1941 - FEB. 3, 1959"COME ON LET'S GO", U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Your Scrapbook is currently empty. While he didn't live all that long, Ritchie Valens positively impacted a countless number of people with his music and his legacy. Days later, I was in Munsons kitchen in the Murrieta Hot Springs neighborhood of Murrieta, looking at snapshots. Ritchie Valens was one of Rock n' Roll's first Latino superstars and has inspired countless musicians around the world. Back then, he was known as Ritchie Valenzuela. We got to talking and he just slipped in.. (Photo Credit: United States Air Force/ Wikimedia Commons via Public Domain). Lemos added that Phillips "became Ritchie to me, for those three months." Valens' family was on set a lot, and Lemos was present the night the crew shot the sequence depicting the plane crash that killed the 17-year-old rock star in February 1959. Munsons dad, an electrician who had been in a band, had a full drum set in the garage. It is probably due to its usage in this film that some people associate the song with Valens, who died some months before it was written. Undated portrait of Ritchie Valens. Bob Munson got in touch to tell me that he and Ritchie Valens had been pals back in junior high. All four people onboard died, including 17-year-old Valens. Lemos added that Phillips "became Ritchie to me, for those three months. The single did well and he released two more singles: 'Donna' for his high school sweetheart, Donna Ludwig and 'La Bamba' which was reworking of a traditional Mexican folk song. That was taken in the Munson living room in Panorama City, adjacent to Pacoima. The Best of Ritchie Valens. He liked to dress well and always His short career ended when he died at age 17 in the 1959 plane crash in which Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper also perished. The harsh glare off the morning papers would . Peter Peter95. The pilot himself, Roger Peterson, was just 21. After the graduation ceremony, Bob's mother . As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. Along with "La Bamba," "Come On, Let's Go," Ritchie also wrote the famous song "Donna," which was a tribute to his high school sweetheart, Donna Ludwig. 0:57. Richardson and Ritchie Valens talked Jennings and Allsup out of their seats. Ritchie Valens - La Bamba 1960. Please enter your email and password to sign in. She has two daughters. Malt Shop Memories Top Down Convertible Sound 2-CD Set. Ritchie Valens was born in 1941 and skyrocketed to stardom at an incredibly young age. "She just starts trembling and she says to me, 'Why did you go, why did you have to go, Ritchie, why did you have to go?" Donna has attended the Winter Dance Party Concert Tommy Allsup flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for a seat on the plane. Ritchies family has influenced me and He was a sweet guy. Ritchie Valens was a rock and roll singer who died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. 19:54. (Photo Credit: Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)/ Wikimedia Commons via Public Domain). the D.J. Ritchies brother, Bob Valenzuela, later recalled that if we hadnt gone to my grandfathers funeral, Ritchie would have been out there, in the playground. Not among them was Valens, who was absent from school that day to attend a burial service for his recently deceased grandfather. Best guess is that he misread his instruments as he tried to fly into the storm. There was a problem getting your location. If you find that some photos violates copyright or have unacceptable properties, please inform us about it. . For the full story of "The Day the Music Died", visit Even though Lou Diamond Phillips played Esai Morales' younger brother in . You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. and she taught me how to cook Ritchies favorite foods: tamales, As a light snow fell on the crash scene, the world enjoyed a few more hours of ignorance and innocence. He just had a horrible fear of small planes, and planes in general. The first Hispanic rock star, Ritchie Valens will forever be known as one of the two musicians (along with the Big Bopper) who perished with Buddy Holly in 1959, when their private plane crashed in the midst of a Midwest tour. She owns the rights to his name, image, trademarks, and other intellectual property. Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. He was in a variety of bands and in his junior year he joined a local California Rock n' Roll band called the "Silhouettes" and they quickly became local stars. Owned and operated by actor-screenwriter Carl Crew and Robert Ferguson, the venue primarily hosts underground musical groups, performance art, movie screenings and sideshow acts including burlesque and freak shows. He had taken it with him on his final tour. In 1987, a biographical movie of his life and times entitled 'La Bamba' was released, both the film and soundtrack became a worldwide smash hit with Los Lobos covering his songs on the soundtrack. Youngest of all was a rising star of Chicano rock Latin Rock . This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. In the resulting media hubbub, an entertainment magazine published Ludwig's address, and she received 8,000 letters a week. to earth. I loved my mother and sister and brother." This browser does not support getting your location. Youth culture would never again be the same. He wanted to buy his mom a home. Buddys lensless frames, dice, watch band, watch and watch back plate that possibly belonged to the Big Bopper, and a Zippo lighter in Mason City, Iowa. We had our little pack. of Ritchie Valens. By the time he was 5 he wanted to play music, especially the guitar. Please reset your password. Ritchie Valens was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. David Allen writes Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, which you did know. February 3, 1959, has gone down in history (and a Don McLean song) as the day the music died. Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper J.P Richardson were killed in a plane crash alongside pilot Roger Peterson on this fateful day. The third crash victim was Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenzuela in a suburb of Los Angeles, who was only 17 when the plane went down but had already scored hits with "Come On, Let's Go . Ludwig asserts that she and Valens had broken up long before he became famous, leaving him free to indulge in the more carnal elements of the rock n' roll lifestyle. for the last several years as a special guest. Ritchie Valens works his way through a succession of guitars based on his level of success during the story - He begins with a Harmony Stratotone. The photographer who captured these iconic images In the film, Valens (portrayed by Lou Diamond Phillips) is head over heels in love with girlfriend Donna Ludwig (Danielle Von Zerneck), and he records the moony love song "Donna" in her honor. He could hold his own in a fight. He didn't swear. SPONSORED. My mom loved him. All Rights Reserved. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Ritchie was there," he told Behind the Music. He had a rhythm for music.. Holly decided to charter a plane for himself and his musicians for the trip out of Clear Lake, Iowa, to their next gig in Minnesota they'd have a good night's sleep and a chance to do laundry before the next show. Was Little Richard Ever Married? He and Ritchie ditched class on occasion with a few other kids to head out to the beach. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Was released nationally In 1989, Beaumont, Texas, near The Big Bopper's hometown of Sabine Pass, unveiled a statue of its local lost figure along with one of the Bopper, Holly, and Valens together. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. I still remember his aftershave, Old Spice. Ritchie More from us:The Tragic Death of Carole Lombard. my family by showing me that with the love and support of family Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. truly good guy; kind and polite. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. A retired firefighter and water plant operator, Munson has lived out here since the mid-1970s. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Rock & Roll had experienced its first great tragedy - the death of not one, but three - iconic performers. He was thrown about 40 feet from the wreckage. A system error has occurred. better known a Concha; Donna Ludwig-Fox; and unknown No one who died in the 1959 plane crash, that day the music died, was an old man. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. After a February 2 show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly, sick with the flu,chartered a small plane for a quick and more comfortable trip to Fargo, N.D., near the next concert site in Moorhead, Minn. When Bob went to his part-time job at a sweets shop, he might give Ritchie a ride on his scooter. So, he decided to hire a plane from a local flying service that would take the crew to Moorhead, Minnesota, after their performance in Clear Lake. At the dedication of Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima in the 1990s, Munson brought his photos to show Valens' sisters, whom he hadn't seen in nearly 40 years. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. See more ideas about post mortem, post mortem photography, celebrity deaths. "If we hadn't gone to my grandfather's funeral, Ritchie would have been out there, in the playground," the singer's brother, Bob Valenzuela, said in a retrospective about the film La Bamba. From there Ritchie could walk home. (Photo Credit: Steve Oroz/ Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images). To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Donna was a great comfort to Ritchies mom and sisters after Meanwhile, a group called the Kittens recorded a song about her called "Letter to Donna," and Elvis Presley asked her out on a date so that he could discuss her ex-boyfriend. This is feature allows you to search the site. Ritchie was the first Latino Rock Star and in addition to being a talented singer/musician, he was also a gifted song writer. A Detailed Look At The Tragic Death Of Ritchie Valens. The performers took a bus to get to all their destinations. The impact killed the pilot, a 21-year-old named Roger Petersen, and all three passengers: Buddy Holly, 22, Ritchie Valens, 17, and Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., also known as the Big . Her girlfriends went crazy when Buddy Holly was 22; J.P. Richardson, " The Big Bopper ," was the old man on the plane, at 28. Munson is 79, the same age Valens would be today. Ritchies death. He was very popular with the girls. The black shape behind the plane, on the other side of the fence. Ritchie was living with his moms sister in Panorama City because of school district boundaries, Munson recalls. A few minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and it crashed into an Iowa field. Another view of the wreckage. Born and raised in California's San Fernando Valley by Mexican-American parents, his birth name was Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes. 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A few seconds later, the DC-7B slammed into the grounds of the Pacoima Congregational Church. Donna in Ritchies room with his guitars. The event is depicted in the film La Bamba, the 1987 biopic of rock 'n' roll figure Ritchie Valens, who was a 15-year-old student at Pacoima Junior High School at the time of the disaster. (Here are selected photos on this topic, but full relevance is not guaranteed.) ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. (Photo Credit: Bettmann/ Getty Images). He remembers the day at junior high Jan. 31, 1957 when two planes crashed in mid-air and some of the wreckage hit the schools playground, killing three students. Ritchie was my first true According to The Washington Post, the film took a few creative liberties, particularly in regards to Valens' romantic life. Sorry! Not only did Munson have stories, he had photos.