It was the end of an era, the demise of a smooth-sailing decade that would soon be replaced by the turbulent sixties. There were 11 months left in the year, but for most people, that was the day the 1950s officially ended. All four occupants died, hopefully instantly. Minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed into a frozen cornfield at 170 miles per hour and skidded for nearly 600 feet, turning end over end. The pilot was young, the hour was late, and the weather was bad. Valens and the Big Bopper took the remaining seats.Įveryone knows the rest of the story. Desperate to avoid another long, cold drive, Holly hired a small Bonanza plane to fly him and two other passengers to Minnesota.
It was freezing outside, and Holly’s drummer had been hospitalized by a bad case of frostbite, thanks to a broken heater inside their tour bus.
The boys had just wrapped up a performance in Clear Lake, Iowa, and their next gig was scheduled for Moorhead, MN, more than 350 miles away. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper died on February 3, 1959, during the second week of a midwestern tour.
