It was 57 years ago Wednesday, the day the music died.
On Feb. 3, 1959, a small plane took off from Clear Lake, Iowa. On board were the pilot and three budding stars of the new rock-and-roll sound: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, better known by his show biz alias, The Big Bopper.
The trio had just performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, along with Dion and the Belmonts, as part of the Winter Dance Party Tour and it was Holly who chartered a plane to go to the next stop on the tour, Moorhead, Minn.
Well, you likely know the rest.
The plane took off on a snowy Clear Lake evening and crashed in a corn field minutes after takeoff, killing all on board.
Fortunately for us, the trio’s music has lived on and the crash was immortalized in the Don McLean classic song American Pie (The Day The Music Died).
A friend of mine has coined 2016 as The Year The Music Died.
The new year is not even 40 days old and already we have lost seven musicians and artists.
Fans of heavy metal have been mourning the death of bassist Jimmy Bain, a member of the American band Dio and British group Rainbow.
Paul Kantner was the co-founder and guitarist with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Jefferson Airplane (and played in Jefferson Starship).
Jefferson’s original singer, Signe Anderson – who was replaced by Grace Slick – died on Jan. 28: the same day as Kantner.
The drummer for Mott The Hoople, Dale Griffin, passed.
Celine Dion’s husband/manager, Rene Angelil, also a music producer and singer, succumbed to cancer.
We also lost two other Hall of Famers in January: David Bowie and Eagles’ co-founder and guitarist Glenn Frey.
In December, up-and-coming country music star Craig Strickland was found dead in a boating accident. He was the frontman for the group Backroad Anthem and, at 29, like Holly (22), Valens (17) and the Bopper (29), died young.
In late December, Motorhead singer Lemmy Kilmister died and, on New Year’s Eve, Natalie Cole passed as did British Columbia swing music icon Dal Richards, famous for his New Year’s Eve shows.
Richards, at 95, died 20 minutes before Jan. 1.
In a span of two months, music lovers have mourned the deaths of 11 artists.
Of course, when someone famous dies, news gets splashed on social media – the world’s largest free obituary section – for everyone to see.
When Frey died, a person on Facebook wrote how perturbed they were that their feed was being inundated with people mourning the death of Frey.
I was one of those people.
Well – and speaking only for myself here – excuse me, but Frey and his group’s music mean a lot to me.
Upon hearing of his death, I was instantly transported back to the 1970s, when the Eagles released their albums Hotel California and The Long Run.
I played both on my record player a lot. Had both albums on cassette, too. A friend had Hotel California on eight-track for his car.
Who among us doesn’t instantly recognize the opening guitar riff in Hotel California?
The Long Run was played at a lot of house parties I went to. Both albums, full of great music and tunes, remind me of simple times hanging out with people that remain friends to this day.
And that’s why I mourn the death of Frey. And Bowie. And Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper.
I didn’t know any of them personally, but each has touched my life through their music.
Although, I’ve had enough mourning for one year already.
