The Day the Music Died

***I had problems with this post. The post is now out of order from back when we were in Iowa. ***

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2, 1959. After they played the concert, instead of riding the bus with the rest of the group to the next stop on their tour, they decided to take a plane. Unfortunately, the plane crashed and killed everyone in it. The ballroom is now a museum plus it continues to have concerts.

This is the phone used by Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens just before they left.

The ballroom was first built in 1934 and hosted big bands through rock and roll. Lots of pictures and items from musicians who played here including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Little Richard, Roy Orbinson, ZZ Top, and Three Dog Night. Here’s some of the more recent ones.

Just a few miles away is the crash site. There aren’t any signs to it, but you can find it on google or several online sites under “Buddy Holly Crash Site”. Large Buddy Holly glasses are out at the road. 

The site seems taken care of, perhaps by the farmer owners. The glasses are repainted every year. The long walk back (0.3 mi) through a corn field is grass and is mowed.

The site itself has several memorials, some long-term and some short-term.