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I picked this book up to read more about the plane crash that killed J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly. I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of late 50's rock and roll, but the stories behind the success of each of these young performers and the history of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party Tour in 1959 were very interesting. These performers were my parents' generation music and as a child, I heard my parents talk about the music and the history of rock and roll quite frequently.
What struck me most while reading this book was the sheer lunacy of having a whirlwind tour of the Upper Midwest United States during what is usually the coldest, snowiest part of the year. Not only did these up and coming rock stars not have decent transportation, they also played in some of the smallest dives imaginable. The performers got very ill and one even developed frostbite after their unheated bus broke down in a snow storm. The doomed flight occurred after they had enough of their transportation woes and chartered a plane. The night was terrible for flying and the pilot was only 21 years old and not even fully trained yet.
The book examined the lives that each of the performers led outside of their rock careers. The Big Bopper was a family man whose wife was pregnant at the time of his untimely death. Buddy Holly's wife was also pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage after his death. Ritchie Valens was a shy young man who wrote the famous song, "Donna" about his first real girlfriend. Buddy and his wife allegedly had a troubled marriage. His wife, Maria Elena Holly, did not attend his funeral and has never been to the grave site. Her interest in his estate after his death has led some to speculation about her character. Fortunately, the author himself doesn't speculate on that; however, many of Buddy's friends and family members had much to say about it. Interestingly, both she and Buddy had nightmare premonitions about a plane crash just days before he left his New York home to embark on the tour.
It was also interesting to find out more about the performer's contemporaries who performed or toured with them. I never knew that Waylon Jennings was one of the Crickets. Dion and The Belmonts were also on the tour, something I didn't know until I read the book.
The three who were killed (along with the pilot of the plane) could have contributed so much more to the history of rock and roll. They left us too young.
What struck me most while reading this book was the sheer lunacy of having a whirlwind tour of the Upper Midwest United States during what is usually the coldest, snowiest part of the year. Not only did these up and coming rock stars not have decent transportation, they also played in some of the smallest dives imaginable. The performers got very ill and one even developed frostbite after their unheated bus broke down in a snow storm. The doomed flight occurred after they had enough of their transportation woes and chartered a plane. The night was terrible for flying and the pilot was only 21 years old and not even fully trained yet.
The book examined the lives that each of the performers led outside of their rock careers. The Big Bopper was a family man whose wife was pregnant at the time of his untimely death. Buddy Holly's wife was also pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage after his death. Ritchie Valens was a shy young man who wrote the famous song, "Donna" about his first real girlfriend. Buddy and his wife allegedly had a troubled marriage. His wife, Maria Elena Holly, did not attend his funeral and has never been to the grave site. Her interest in his estate after his death has led some to speculation about her character. Fortunately, the author himself doesn't speculate on that; however, many of Buddy's friends and family members had much to say about it. Interestingly, both she and Buddy had nightmare premonitions about a plane crash just days before he left his New York home to embark on the tour.
It was also interesting to find out more about the performer's contemporaries who performed or toured with them. I never knew that Waylon Jennings was one of the Crickets. Dion and The Belmonts were also on the tour, something I didn't know until I read the book.
The three who were killed (along with the pilot of the plane) could have contributed so much more to the history of rock and roll. They left us too young.