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The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens
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The story of the last tour of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens-and the fatal air crash that took their lives. Drawing on new documentary information, the author recreates the often grueling conditions of an early rock and roll tour, and provides new facts about "the day the music died." With 50 photos.
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Paperback, 272 pages
Published
September 1st 2003
by Schirmer Trade Books
(first published October 27th 1997)
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Start your review of The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens

I've read several Holly bio's but this was the first book that I have read that gave equal representation to J.P Richardson, Richie Valens and Roger Peterson. I felt like I was given the opportunity to get to know a little bit about each one of them. Lots of photos, as well. The author details the tour stop-by-stop, and really gives you a better perspective of what that short, fateful tour really was like for the performers and spectators.
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I'm not sure if it's possible to cram more facts and incidental detail in a book of this kind. Larry Lehmer's 1997 publication of 'The Day the Music Died' contains a vast amount of research with anecdotal testimony centred on the 'Winter Dance Party Tour' of Jan/Feb 1959, the last tour for Buddy Holly, J.D. Richardson (the Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens.
The author has most certainly left no turn un-stoned. He includes concise biographies of all the artists on the tour, both prior and post '59. N ...more
The author has most certainly left no turn un-stoned. He includes concise biographies of all the artists on the tour, both prior and post '59. N ...more

This is a excellent resource for anyone who is interested in the last times of three great performers. The author has done superb research into the smallest details of the last days of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Amazing photos are included! A great read for anyone interested in the subject.

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This is the second book I've read about Buddy Holly. It is extremely well researched and well written. The author mentions that it was a 16-year project, so it is quite thorough. I appreciate how many interviews and other first-hand accounts were included, as well as photographs. I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing more about these three legends or about the origins of rock and roll in the US. Great book.
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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
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