Today is the 47th anniversary of The Day the Music Died, the airplane crash that claimed the lives of one of rock n’ roll’s biggest stars (Buddy Holly), rock n’ roll’s hottest young new star (Ritchie Valens), and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), who was a rising star in his own right. Many people know that Don McLean’s American Pie was all about this fateful day. So what if he’s nearly a one-hit wonder (Vincent was a modest follow-up hit for Don), he gave the world one of the most intricately woven, fact-filled, tributes ever to grace vinyl.
Some people might say, ‘So what? Rock stars die all the time.’ [You might be saying that right now, but indulge me here.] In fact, on the 40th anniversary of the crash, I tried engaging my mother in a little chat about it. I said, “Hey, Mom, today is the 40th anniversary of The Day the Music Died.” Her response was, “What’s that?” She lived through this event and is a big rock n’ roll fan, yet she didn’t put much thought into it. Pity.
The death of these three rock n’ rollers had a profound effect on the music industry. These men were all singer-songwriter-musicians. Buddy Holly was a rock n’ roll pioneer and Valens and Richardson, while not pioneers, were in on the ground floor, as well. Within a couple of years of the crash, Elvis joined the Army, Jerry Lee Lewis was an outcast because he married his teenage cousin, Little Richard found God and gave up rock n’ roll, Chuck Berry was in and out of legal trouble, and bubblegum pop came to the forefront to fill the morass on the charts. I’m not saying it was all bad, because I am certainly a fan of late ’50s/early ’60s pop-rock. However, there were a few years when the singer-songwriter-musician fell out of favor and a new system took place – that of professional songwriters penning songs for young pop singers. It’s been in place ever since (from Little Eva all the way to Britney Spears), with varying degrees of influence; it nearly went extinct during the earthy crunchy singer-songwriter boom of the 1970s, but even James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, and Carole King were no match.
Maybe this was bound to happen around 1959, but I do know (from watching the stellar VH1 Behind the Music on The Day the Music Died) that certain experts give credence to the link between the death of these men and the dearth of talent on the radio. This is a big reason why The Beatles’ arrival in the U.S. in 1964 was such a huge deal. Here were four young guys who wrote their own songs, sang them, and played all their own instruments. It’s no secret they were hugely influenced by the big names that had disappeared for a while – Holly, Elvis, Berry, Little Richard, et al.
Today is Friday and we’ll likely be enjoying some drinks tonight with friends and loved ones. When you do, lift a glass and remember these three men and the music they took with them.
