Listening to the 60s Channel on XMRadio, I have heard a lot of great old music, including several songs from Dion DiMucci. I knew a lot of his songs — “The Wanderer”, “Abraham Martin and John”, “A Teenager In Love” and many others.
Naturally, I wanted to know more about him. I looked up Dion on Wikipedia, and learned, much to my surprise, that Dion could have had a seat on the plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, the Day The Music Died. Dion didn’t want to spend the $36 for the plane ticket, as it was a whole month’s rent for his family back then.
This led me to read up more about The Day The Music Died. What a tragic story. A young pilot, probably unqualified and unaware that a blizzard was approaching accepted the job of flying these famous musicians. Shortly after takeoff, in blizzard conditions, the plane crashed into a corn field, killing all on board.
Today, near Clear Lake, Iowa, is a monument to these musicians. Buddy Holly's trademark glasses mark the entrance to the monument. Walking half a mile back into the cornfield (with permission of the land owner), there is another monument at the site of the crash.
These three musicians have not been forgotten. Their music is still memorable and still played on the radio, and I'm sure I can still sing along to The Big Bopper's “Chantilly Lace”, more than 50 years after it was recorded.
Naturally, I wanted to know more about him. I looked up Dion on Wikipedia, and learned, much to my surprise, that Dion could have had a seat on the plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, the Day The Music Died. Dion didn’t want to spend the $36 for the plane ticket, as it was a whole month’s rent for his family back then.
This led me to read up more about The Day The Music Died. What a tragic story. A young pilot, probably unqualified and unaware that a blizzard was approaching accepted the job of flying these famous musicians. Shortly after takeoff, in blizzard conditions, the plane crashed into a corn field, killing all on board.
Today, near Clear Lake, Iowa, is a monument to these musicians. Buddy Holly's trademark glasses mark the entrance to the monument. Walking half a mile back into the cornfield (with permission of the land owner), there is another monument at the site of the crash.
These three musicians have not been forgotten. Their music is still memorable and still played on the radio, and I'm sure I can still sing along to The Big Bopper's “Chantilly Lace”, more than 50 years after it was recorded.
I want to visit the crash site.
0 comments:
Post a Comment