CLEAR LAKE, IOWA


January 1959 Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, Dion and Belmonts, Frankie Sardo, Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch set out on a 24 day tour barnstorming the Midwest. The shows were often scheduled several 100 miles apart from one another as they zigzagged through one of the deadliest winters the midwest had seen and the worst transportation available. The musicians crammed into a draftly bus to perform in small ballrooms and theaters and by Feb. 1st, Buddy Holly's drummer (Carl Branch) had frostbitten feet. By the time the tour limped into Clear Lake on Feb. 2nd, Holly had decided to charter a small plane for himself, Allsup and Jennings to fly to their next venue in Fargo, North Dakota. Following the show at the Surf ballroom, at the last minute Jennings gave up his seat to The Big Bopper, who had the flu, and Allsup lost his seat to Ritchie Valens with the flip of a coin. The performance in Clear Lake was electric but ended with the unthinkable. After their performances at the Surf Ballroom, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the nearby Mason City airport. February 2nd, 1959 was forever immoralized as "The Day the Music Died".