Then a White Harmony H954 hollow body, arch-top acoustic. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. during an interview. Click to reveal But for however much Keane tried to downplay Valens' Mexican heritage, he also attempted to exploit it, because it was an angle and a perspective that most other prospective rock stars of the era couldn't claim. We got to talking and he just slipped in.. Ritchies brother, Bob Valenzuela, later recalled that if we hadnt gone to my grandfathers funeral, Ritchie would have been out there, in the playground. ", Lou Diamond Phillips, who portrayed Valens, says a profound connection with the musician's loved ones developed. When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside Clear Lake . It was released in only a few months before the accident, and it was a huge success. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. The plane never made it to Minnesota. 19:54. "I still remember the first time we heard Ritchie sing on the radio," the mother of the late Latino rock 'n' roller Ritchie Valens recalled . Munson had a Brownie camera, a boxy model with a built-in flash that was the starter camera of the era. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Best guess is that he misread his instruments as he tried to fly into the storm. A few minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and it crashed into an Iowa field. At the dedication of Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima in the 1990s, Munson brought his photos to show Valens sisters, whom he hadnt seen in nearly 40 years. In 2000, bigwigs in the music industry thought to bestow one of its most prestigious honors on the late Ritchie Valens they voted to enshrine him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During lunchtime at school he would sit on the bleachers and practice or entertain his friends with his music. The label turned it down, citing the lack of an audience and how Valens was a forgotten figure. It then began an uncontrollable high-velocity dive toward the ground. With Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Pea. for the last several years as a special guest. Donna has attended the Winter Dance Party Concert Lemos added that Phillips "became Ritchie to me, for those three months. Smart man. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. So he followed the hearse to San Fernando . While he didn't live all that long, Ritchie Valens positively impacted a countless number of people with his music and his legacy. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Ritchie had told Donna that he was The performers took a bus to get to all their destinations. Jun 10, 2017 - Explore Gary Fahr's board "Post Mortem Celebrities" on Pinterest. My grandfathers death saved Ritchies life., American rock n roll singer Ritchie Valens in concert, 1950s. ". When Connie Valens Anderson, sister of of late rock 'n' roll icon Ritchie Valens, learned that a stretch of the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley was being named after her . Valens grew up in suburban Los Angeles in a . Rock & Roll had experienced its first great tragedy - the death of not one, but three - iconic performers. I wonder if thats what got him to play? Munson says excitedly, breaking into a startled smile. There was no jacket or overcoat on the body. In 1958, producer Bob Keane discovered Valens and signed him to Del-Fi, his own label, then talked the singer into shortening his name to the far less ethnic-sounding Ritchie Valens. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. No one who died in the 1959 plane crash, that day the music died, was an old man. Performance & security by Cloudflare. and president of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Fan Club; Paulina They are a blessing to me and my family. David Allen writes Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, which you did know. But then, he didn't have much time with which to rack up a string of hits he released his first recordings in 1958 and died in early 1959. The biggest hit at the time was "Donna," along with "Come On, Let's Go," but he's perhaps remembered most today for "La Bamba," based on a Mexican folk song, a driving combination of rock and Latin rhythm. Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products, This is a data management platform studying reader behavior. Pictured from left to right: Olga Jurado-Zubick, Ritchie's cousin; Gail Smith, Ritchie's classmate and president of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Fan Club; Paulina Lozano, sister of Ritchie's aunt Ernestine; Ritchie's mother Connie, better known a "Concha"; Donna . Richardson was coming down with the flu and convinced Holly's bass player, Waylon Jennings, to trade transportation with him. Best remembered for his hit song Chantilly Lace (1958), he was killed in the same plane crash that also killed early rock-n-roll icons Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in an event that became known as The Day The Music Died. "She just starts trembling and she says to me, 'Why did you go, why did you have to go, Ritchie, why did you have to go?" On February 3, 1959, a three-passenger plane went down less than six miles from the airport it had just departed. She was 72. Ritchie Valens - Ooh My Head. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. You most likely recognize his iconic hit, "La Bamba," which came out in 1958, when Ritchie was only 17. In January 1959, Ritchie Valens set out with Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson, and Frankie Sardo on a 24-day tour of the mid-Western United States. During the ill-fated Midwest tour, the drummer developed frostbite, so Valens, Holly and a third musician divided the drumming duties. the Archive's Buddy Holly-Big Bopper-Ritchie Valens Tribute. My mom loved him. 0 cemeteries found in Mission Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA. To hear from someone in Riverside County who had known Valens was a kick. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Maddy Hiltz is someone who loves all things history. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The bodies of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens were found near the wreckage of the plane. The Best of Ritchie Valens. (Here are selected photos on this topic, but full relevance is not guaranteed.) Photos from the day the music died. He went to Philadelphia to appear on Dick . Buddy Holly Ritchie Valens The Big Bopper. Buddys lensless frames, dice, watch band, watch and watch back plate that possibly belonged to the Big Bopper, and a Zippo lighter in Mason City, Iowa. In 1958, one year after this plane crash, Ritchie Valenss music career really took off after he recorded and released Come On, Lets Go and La Bamba. As his star rose, Valens realized that he would have to get over his fear of flying in order to go on tours. Ritchies family has influenced me and He didn't swear. Three bodies are visible. Try again. In 1987, a biographical movie of his life and times entitled 'La Bamba' was released, both the film and soundtrack became a worldwide smash hit with Los Lobos covering his songs on the soundtrack. isolated field in Iowa. Only when they arrived at the crash site did they realize it was Ritchies school. He came on as a . In late January 1959, Ritchie Valens joined Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and "Dion and the Belmonts" for the 'Winter Dance Party' which was a tour of the upper Midwest. He was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His short career ended when he died at age 17 in the 1959 plane crash in which Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper also perished. Verify and try again. Rock and roll star Ritchie Valens was only 17 when he died in a plane crash, alongside Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, on a cold early . Ritchie Valens was one of Rock n' Roll's first Latino superstars and has inspired countless musicians around the world. This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. American guitarist (1941-1959) Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 - February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed in a plane crash eight months into his music career. On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B took off from Santa Monica Airport at 10:15 a.m. on its first test flight. G Pollen. Days later, I was in Munsons kitchen in the Murrieta Hot Springs neighborhood of Murrieta, looking at snapshots. Ritchie and his family members saw what had happened from miles away and decided to drive in that direction to see what had happened and if they could help out. Everyone was quickly exhausted. spoke often about his family. Ritchie was away that day at his grandfathers funeral. An estimated 75 students suffered from both major and minor injuries. Ludwig asserts that she and Valens had broken up long before he became famous, leaving him free to indulge in the more carnal elements of the rock n' roll lifestyle. On Feb 2, 1959, 17-year-old Ritchie died in a plane crash, along with Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper." Ritchie Valens died at age 17 in one of the most famous aviation accidents in American history the Feb. 3, 1959, small plane crash in Iowa that also killed fellow rock stars Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. $27.27. This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. The soul singer Sam Cooke scored his first pop hit on a Keane label, and Ritchie Valens and the Bobby Fuller Four were both discovered by him. He only had had one number one hit with "That'll Be the Day," but he inspired nearly every next-generation legend from Bob Dylan to The Beatles to follow in his footsteps. Valens, who became a hit sensation with his track "La La Bamba" and was immortalized in the film of the same name, was only 17 when he died. Undated portrait of Ritchie Valens. Another photo has Ritchie seated behind a snare drum, looking at the camera, drumsticks in his hands. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. February 3, 1959, is widely regarded as the day the music died. However, it is strange and sad that only two years before the crash that killed Ritchie Valens, his life was greatly impacted by another tragic plane accident. As a light snow fell on the crash scene, the world enjoyed a few more hours of ignorance and innocence. You had to be tough, Munson says of that high school. He just would never fly., Photo of Buddy Holly and The Crickets, circa 1958. A few seconds later, the DC-7B slammed into the grounds of the Pacoima Congregational Church. After the graduation ceremony, Bob's mother . There is a problem with your email/password. He is best known for his hits "La Bamba" and "Donna.". I cried all the time and everyone pointed their finger at me. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. They are from Kevin Terry's collection from the Valens attended school at Pacoima Junior High School near Los Angeles, which sat under a flight path. Buddy Holly was 22; J.P. Richardson, " The Big Bopper ," was the old man on the plane, at 28. They became part of a mixed-race group that spent time together. The emotional gravity of the situation led to an emotional breakdown. Ritchie Valens was just 17 years old when he scored the smash hits "La Bamba" and "Donna" in 1958, which feature his virtuoso-level guitar playing and classic crooner-style voice, respectively. Rolling Stone relates that in his eight-month career, Valens recorded 29 songs 21 of them he'd written himself. During this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which was originally a . We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. In the original script, Ritchie's older brother Bob was the lead of the film. After Chicano musician and actor Danny Valdez released his debut album in 1973, A&M Records executives inquired about his next move, which prompted a discussion with his manager, budding filmmaker Taylor Hackford, about making and starring in a movie about Ritchie Valens. Notable songs include "La Bamba" and "Donna.". Valens, Holly, Richardson and the pilot Roger Peterson were all killed instantly. He sang her the first part of "Donna" and, Donna told ABC during a special, "of course I cried. Donna told The Post that he would even allude to them getting married someday. Year should not be greater than current year. BELOVED SON & BROTHERRICHARD STEVEN"RITCHIE VALENS"MAY 13, 1941 - FEB. 3, 1959"COME ON LET'S GO", U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Your Scrapbook is currently empty. However, by the time the group reached the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 2, Buddy Holly had enough of the freezing, unreliable tour bus. You most likely recognize his iconic hit, "La Bamba," which came out in 1958, when Ritchie was only 17. Holly, Richardson, and Valens were thrown from the wreckage; Peterson was found entangled in what was left of the plane. Ritchie Valens was just 17 years old when he changed the course of pop music in the late 1950s. Ritchie Valens, 23, was a talented musician and singer who died in a plane crash . Ritchie and Bob would visit each others homes and sometimes sleep over. Bob Keane, the a Del-Fi record label exec, discovered him and had Ritchie's change his last name to make it more "radio friendly" (aka, whitewash his identity but that's a different story). Lemos added that Phillips "became Ritchie to me, for those three months." Valens' family was on set a lot, and Lemos was present the night the crew shot the sequence depicting the plane crash that killed the 17-year-old rock star in February 1959. Before long, the 16-year-old Valens was the group's lead singer, too. August 28, 2018. Distractify is a registered trademark. Just think if he had lived where hed be now., My dad taught him how to hold the sticks. A couple more minor hits in 1959 followed "That's My Little Suzie" and "Little Girl" and that was all the radio would get from Valens. "La Bamba" is Ritchie Valens' most famous musical work, but it's not a Valens original. As a fan of 1950s rock who happens to cover the Inland Empire, Ive been delighted to discover that Valens performed twice in Pomona, subject of one recent column, and that two Pomona High students got to meet and interview him, subject of another. He didn't tell me he was going to record it.". The body of Jiles P. Richardson was clothed in a red checked flannel shirt and light blue cotton pants. nothing is too difficult. 1958 was the year Ritchie's career really took off. Valens apparently became proficient on drums, I told Munson. Yepcats. In what could be viewed as an ominous portent of future tragedy, Valens avoided an airplane-related death two years earlier. Twin Cities funeral director Marvin D. McKee, who in 1959 prepared the bodies of famed rockers Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens after they were killed in an airplane crash in Iowa, died on March 17 . Time Life (1) 1 product ratings - Malt Shop Memories Top Down Convertible Sound 2-CD Set. Once they did, Valdez reconnected with Hackford, who by that time had become a major filmmaker. missing. 1:04. Another photo has Ritchie standing next to a car at the Munson curb. He hadn't grown up speaking Spanish; he had to be coached phonetically for the Spanish lyrics in "La Bamba.". English According to the Los Angeles Times, Valens' sisters Connie Lemos and Irma Padillaplay farm workers in the movie's opening sequence, while their daughters, Gloria and Kristin, play their own mothers as children in other scenes. Valens is visible behind the investigators. We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. I was devastated. Eerily enough, it was known that Ritchie had a tremendous fear of flying after witnessing two planes collide when he was younger. A photo exists of Valens playing drums behind Dion and the Belmonts. Ritchie was there," he told Behind the Music. Munsons dad, an electrician who had been in a band, had a full drum set in the garage. Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 - February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. "Ritchie never spoke in Spanish because his dad never did," his mother, Connie Valenzuela, said. Donna in Ritchies room with his guitars. Please enter your email and password to sign in. The plane is said to have cartwheeled 540 feet before coming to rest against the fence. and she taught me how to cook Ritchies favorite foods: tamales, Try again later. The pilot himself, Roger Peterson, was just 21. Sadly, Valens is also one of music's biggest "what could have been" stories he died at age 17 while still a rising success. to earth. Weve updated the security on the site. He recorded numerous hits during his short career, most notably the 1958 hit "La Bamba . "Man on the Moon" tells the story of Andy Kauffman and alludes to many of his famous stunts: wrestling Jerry Lawler and impersonating Elvis Presley. Not among them was Valens, who was absent from school that day to attend a burial service for his recently deceased grandfather. Holly, Valens, and Richardson were memorialized by legendary singer-songwriter Don McLean approximately 12 years after the crash. Meanwhile, a group called the Kittens recorded a song about her called "Letter to Donna," and Elvis Presley asked her out on a date so that he could discuss her ex-boyfriend. This is a carousel with slides. He and Ritchie met in seventh grade. $18.99. Learn more about merges. On February 3, 1959, rock and rollers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash. He did, however, come up with the arrangement of the tune as an energetic, highly crafted single emblematic of the 1950s early rock n' roll sound. Absorbing the wild stylings of early rock n' roll, including rockabilly artists and Little Richard, along with traditional and folk forms he gleaned from his Mexican-American family, he synthesized his influences and landed a position as the guitarist in a local garage rock band called the Silhouettes. Valens' biggest hit came posthumously, when the tender, English-language love ballad, "Donna," hit No. Born in Sabine Pass, Texas, his father worked as a driller in the oil fields. Donna now lives in a small community near Sacramento with her third husband. Tommy Allsup flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for a seat on the plane. Ritchie Valens passed away on February 3, 1959 at 17 years old. purchased just a few months earlier. the D.J. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. In the dark, early hours of 3 February 1959, a small nondescript plane, battered by wind and snow, crashed to earth in an isolated field in Iowa. Douglas DC-7B crash site, January 31, 1957. Holly is on the left. He liked to dress well and always Munson is 79, the same age Valens would be today. Colombia Pictures / Via youtube.com. WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) _ Connie Valenzuela, the mother of the late rock singer Ritchie Valens, has died of an apparent heart attack. This photo is taken after Ritchies death This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. He just had a horrible fear of small planes, and planes in general. Despite not being at school when the mid-air collision happened, Ritchie Valens developed an intense fear of flying because of this plane crash.