A little more than four months before I was born in 1959, the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed in a frozen Iowa corn field. All the passengers on board were killed.
The 50th anniversary of the crash -- which was immortalized in the enigmatic song by Don McLean, who is not to be confused with the former Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLean who was also popular at the same time as the song, is next week, February 3rd. Before getting back to the song, let me dispatch Denny McLean -- the last pitcher in the major leagues to win 30 or more games. He eventually got into trouble with the mafia for making bets that he couldn't pay and had his toes smashed. Not a good way to show up at the ball park and expect to be the winning pitcher.
Okay, now back to the song. I've heard the name of the small plane that crashed was called "American Pie", hence the name of the song by Don McLean.
It's also been said that country singer Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane and rode the bus from Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota. Jennings lived another 40 years but has since died of lung cancer from smoking cigarettes.
To fill in for the dead band members, a local musician from Fargo was asked to fill in for the singers in Moorhead. His name is Bobby Vee. He now lives around St. Cloud, Minnesota, but a fellow I used to work with at MDU when to high school with Bobby Vee and said he was about as nice a guy as you'd ever like to meet. Bobby Vee had a very successful recording career and his painting hangs in the North Dakota capitol's hall of fame.
Anyway, hopefully we'll get to hear some Buddy Holly songs on the radio in the coming days. I have an old phonograph album of Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I love all of his songs but my favorite is probably "Peggy Sue."
One other bit of trivia. Buddy's drummer later went on to play with the Everly Brothers and wrote one of their hit songs.
This is why my column is called "something or other at random."...that's the way my mind works. I liked Buddy Holly, I liked the Don McLean song, I liked Bobby Vee because my friend liked him in high school. And I even liked the story about pitcher Denny McLean because it serves as a reminder that we shouldn't make bets that we can't pay.
We were singing "Bye, bye Miss American Pie...."
Recipe - Aunt May's Famous Wheatcakes
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Now Playing - Forever Young by Alphaville RECIPE: MAY PARKER'S FAMOUS
WHEATCAKES Originally made by my pal Pete's Aunt May, these wheatcakes are
a great...
10 years ago
7 comments:
Hey Steve- I love music trivia, so this post was right up my alley. I listened to a cd with American Pie this weekend while I drove home. While I wasn't even a thought in 1959- I am glad that the music and stories surrounding the tunes remain.
I loved the song "American Pie" before I ever realized why it was written. It was our very own Mr. Franke who told us the background when he handed out the music for guitar class in high school. Some other songs we played were "Wake up little Susie" by the Everly Brothers. My Dad probably has many of the same records you do. I grew up listening to Buddy Holly and the Crickets and the other singers you mentioned. I also enjoyed the Righteous Brothers. I was singing, "You've lost that lovin' feeling," long before the movie, "Top Gun", came out. Thanks for waking up some great memories Steve.
OK,I have some trivia,or not, questions.Did the three men have bands that also traveled on highways?Were they going from one concert to another?Wasn't Patsy Cline part of the story?When Bobby Vee recorded did it come out on 4-track?What was going on in Moorhead Mi.To lure in this crowd?That ain't L.A..Why would you call a plane American Pie?Why not American Sky?Those are just a few things I would like to Know.You that know, could help me out here.I'm still questioning Flight 007 shot down over Korea not being a spy plane.Talk about Pondering at Random.
Thanks for the music history lesson! I didn't know the events surrounding that song, but love the song.
Ar Vee - Go rent the "Buddy Holly" story starring Gary Bussey. Buddy and the Crickets were part of a winter tour to promote a new album. The bus was unheated and rather than try to sleep while sitting up, Buddy rented a small air plane that would get him to Fargo/Moorhead so he could get some rest before the performance. And -- no -- Patsy Cline died in a plane crash with country star Cowboy Copas in the early 60s. Not with the rock and rollers. By the way, the song "American Pie" is a lament about how rock and roll from the 50s disintegrated into 10 minute drum intervals and guitar solos in the 60s. No longer was it music you could dance to. The lyrics from the song that says "This is'll be the day that I die" is homage to Buddy Holly's song that has the refrain "That'll be the da-a-ay, that I die."
Glad there are people that like the trivia....my kids can tell you that I'm full of it...trivia that is.
I don't think there will ever be music as good as the late 50's and 60's. The only music I listen to now days is classic country and 60's rock & roll. Even the new country now days is getting too much like modern day rock. I used to have an old 8 track tape deck but then my wife sold all my old 8 tracks at the rummage sale so I figured there was no reason to keep the deck either. Oh well good thing for the Time Life Book CDs and the other companies that reproduce them. At least you can still by the music.
Mea culpa - I was reading on the Internet last night that the plane that crashed actually had no name -- only a registration number. It said that common held belief that the name of the plane was "American Pie" is an urban legend. Far be it from me to spreak a falsification -- even if it is more interesting than "song writer Don McLean has never said what the meaning of American Pie is because if he did Americans might think, 'Naw, you're kidding."
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