February 3: The Coin Flip That Changed Rock History

On February 3, 1959, a small plane crashed in an Iowa cornfield carrying three musicians who had already changed rock and roll forever. Buddy Holly was 22. Ritchie Valens was 17. The Big Bopper was 28. Together, they had revolutionized popular music in less time than most bands take to record an album.

The Teenager Who Made History in Eight Months

Ritchie Valens had been a professional musician for just eight months when he boarded that plane. In that brief window, he recorded La Bamba and became the first artist to put a Spanish language rock song on the American charts. He was seventeen years old. He had a lifelong fear of flying but won a coin toss for one of the plane seats.

Buddy Holly Rewrote the Rules at 22

Buddy Holly's recording career lasted less than two years, yet he invented the modern rock band format. He was the first to use a lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums that every band from The Beatles to today still copies. He wrote his own songs when artists were expected to perform what producers gave them. The Beatles named themselves partly as a tribute to his band, The Crickets.

The Coin Flip Nobody Wanted to Win

Tommy Allsup, a guitarist on the tour, flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for the last plane seat. Valens called heads and won. Allsup kept that coin for the rest of his life. Waylon Jennings, who later became a country legend, gave up his seat to The Big Bopper, who was sick with the flu and exhausted from the frozen tour bus.

A Song That Took Twelve Years to Write

Don McLean was a paperboy in 1959 when he learned about the crash. The news haunted him for over a decade. In 1971, he finally wrote American Pie, an eight minute epic that called February 3rd the day the music died. The song reached number one and gave the tragedy a name that has lasted over sixty years.

Why The Beatles Chose Their Name

John Lennon loved Buddy Holly and The Crickets. When forming his own band, he wanted a name that worked the same way, an insect with a musical spelling twist. The Beatles became the biggest band in history partly because a 22 year old from Texas showed them what a rock band could be.

Music That Outlived the Musicians

La Bamba introduced millions of Americans to Latin music decades before the Latin pop explosion. That'll Be the Day proved artists could write their own hits. Chantilly Lace showed personality could sell records. Three young men recorded a handful of songs that shaped every decade of popular music that followed.