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The Day The Music Died
Their lives were cut brutally short...yet the legacy has on lived on for four decades.
They were three of rock 'n' roll's brightest stars, touring together in a music revue that was as grueling as it was magical. Dilapidated school buses that frequently broke down and rarely had heat carried them hundreds of miles across the Midwest with its unforgiving cold. Hoping to get a decent night's sleep, a hot meal, and a chance to clean the clothes they'd been wearing for weeks, Buddy Holly chartered a plane.
On February 3, 1959, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly boarded a small plane bound for rock 'n' roll heaven. This is their story, told by the family members, bandmates, and witnesses who lived it. Including material not seen in the original VH1 broadcast, Behind the the Day the Music Died is a compelling record of one of rock 'n' roll's defining moments.
They were three of rock 'n' roll's brightest stars, touring together in a music revue that was as grueling as it was magical. Dilapidated school buses that frequently broke down and rarely had heat carried them hundreds of miles across the Midwest with its unforgiving cold. Hoping to get a decent night's sleep, a hot meal, and a chance to clean the clothes they'd been wearing for weeks, Buddy Holly chartered a plane.
On February 3, 1959, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly boarded a small plane bound for rock 'n' roll heaven. This is their story, told by the family members, bandmates, and witnesses who lived it. Including material not seen in the original VH1 broadcast, Behind the the Day the Music Died is a compelling record of one of rock 'n' roll's defining moments.
- GenresMusicRock N RollHistory
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 19, 2023
This is a short book but Martin Huxley and Quinton Skinner pack a lot in to such few pages. This is a good introduction to the February 3, 1959 plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa that killed rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
The authors use interviews from the cast of characters - family members, band members, music industry professionals and close friends, to allow us to see the dynamics of how the Winter Dance Party got established, who the performers were, and the impact that Feb. 3 has had on their lives but also in music history.
The book does have its limits. There were people whose voices were left out. We don't hear anything from Dion DiMucci and his band, The Belmonts, nor do we hear from Frankie Sardo, who were also on the Winter Dance Party billing. They may have been unwilling to speak or couldn't be found, but it doesn't even appear like an attempt had been made. They are mentioned briefly, almost as an aside, yet they were important artists to the show in their own right.
Still, there are enough voices here to merit this book inside your Buddy Hoy book collection, even if it is a somewhat brief overview of the story. There's enough here to give it a four-star rating.
The authors use interviews from the cast of characters - family members, band members, music industry professionals and close friends, to allow us to see the dynamics of how the Winter Dance Party got established, who the performers were, and the impact that Feb. 3 has had on their lives but also in music history.
The book does have its limits. There were people whose voices were left out. We don't hear anything from Dion DiMucci and his band, The Belmonts, nor do we hear from Frankie Sardo, who were also on the Winter Dance Party billing. They may have been unwilling to speak or couldn't be found, but it doesn't even appear like an attempt had been made. They are mentioned briefly, almost as an aside, yet they were important artists to the show in their own right.
Still, there are enough voices here to merit this book inside your Buddy Hoy book collection, even if it is a somewhat brief overview of the story. There's enough here to give it a four-star rating.
August 13, 2008
This book was an excellent quick read. I had never known much about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens or the Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) before and the book just fascinated and saddened me. For those of you not familiar, it is an account of their rise to fame, their seperate careers, and the tragic airplane crash that ended their lives in February 1959. It definitely helped me appreciate their musical legacies and inspired me to search out their music.
September 29, 2011
Not fade away...
September 1, 2012
The companion book to "Behind The Music" of the same name on VH1. It's a sad but true story that changed the hearts of the teen world on Feb. 3, 1959.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews