THE BIG BOPPER : BOPPERS BOGGIE WOOGIE - AND LINK TO OFFICIAL SITE!

 

BIG BOPPER OFFICIAL  link here!

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED - RITCHIE VALENS - and LINK TO RITCHIE VALENS OFFICIAL

FROM OUR ARCHIVES OCTOBER 6, 2007  THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED!

RITCHIE VALENS died in that plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

Alan Freed, a pioneer in Rock and Roll, who held big stage shows in New York City where many of my peers performed, got ahold of Richie Valens and asked him to appear. Ritchie was just a kid with a chaperone, but we all wanted to meet him and considered him part of our Rock and Roll family. I was there when Ritchie performed in New York, and he was a total pro at 17. Everyone wanted to meet him. We didn't care that he was Mexican-American, not at all. Among us he was one of the firsts who came out of California - Los Angeles - The San Fernando Valley - a place that would become more important to many of us as the years went on! We might have been more curious about him on that basis! We were a lot of Southern boys there in the Big Apple!

Ritchie had the hit "Donna,"a soft ballad, in 1958, and there's been a movie made about his life, "La Bamba."

NEW LINK RITCHIE VALENS OFFICIAL


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NEW VIDEO!
 

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED - BUDDY KNOX AND BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS AND ME (part one)

FROM OUR ARCHIVES OCTOBER 6, 2007  THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED!

Many of you have heard the song called "American Pie," also known as The Day The Music Died song, performed and written by singer-songwriter Don Mclean. The lyrics which are a bit of a puzzle to the uninitiated are meant to honor three early Rock n' Rollers whose influence was profound, and who were killed in a small plane crash over Mason City, Iowa.

On February 3, 1959, Buddy Knox and I were traveling on tour. After a late night we got up and went to breakfast. I ran to get the newspaper and was shocked to see the headline. Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson also known as JP), and Ritchie Valens had been killed in a plane crash. The three men had been trying to make time on their own road tour. Buddy Knox ran for the men's room and threw up his breakfast.

Buddy Knox and Buddy Holly had been good friends in New York and the had Texas roots and musical influences in common. Buddy Knox had sent the song "That'll Be The Day" over to Buddy Holly rather than record it himself, and was happy when Buddy Holly had a hit with it.

I'd met Buddy Knox and some of the other Crickets in New York City. I thought of Buddy Holly as a zany guy. On this tour he had left the Crickets behind.

Friends, there's no way we can honor all three Rock n Rollers on just one blog entry, so we're going to post separately, one for Buddy Holly, one for JP, and one for Ritchie. Stick with us! We're having a great time posting our blog, we're excited about it, and we know those of you who aren't familiar with my era are getting a real lesson - we hope a fun one - out of it.



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THE BIG BOPPER - THE CLOCK

BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS - BIG BOPPER - RITCHIE VALENS AND DION AND THE BELMONTS

At the time that I was signed by United Artists, I became friends with a group of guys who liked to hang out in diners and plan their musical careers.  The group included Dion as well as Buddy Knox and Bobby Darin.

THE BIG BOPPER : FROM OUR ARCHIVE 2007

The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, is best known for his hit record "Chantilly Lace."

I never met J.P. so I have little personal to say about him. He's part of the history of rock and roll and Elvis and I did love "Chantilly Lace," that part about "a wiggle in her walk..."

The thing about people at the height of their fame who die unexpectedly is that you never know what they would have become if they had lived. The death of JP, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly had Buddy Knox and me wondering about our own mortality.

BIG BOPPER : PINK PETTICOATS

JILES PERRY RICHARDSON : TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL MUSEUM on THE BIG BOPPER

Here's a new link for us. THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL MUSEUM handbook on line, profile of J.P Richardson, the Big Bopper. Texas has spawned a lot of musicians, a lot of rock-a-billy, and early rock and roll.

J.P. RICHARDSON : THE BIG BOPPER

Linking to THE BIG BOPPER OFFICIAL SITE above!

WE CELEBRATE EARLY ROCK AND ROLL PIONEERS : BUDDY HOLLY, RITCHIE VALENS, J.P. RICHARDSON

Tomorrow, the 3rd, is the day some call "THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED" because its the anniversary of the plane crash that killed three early rock' n rollers who were on tour together. I met Buddy Holly in New York and I was on tour with Buddy Knox when the plane crashed. I also got to record with a couple of the Crickets left behind backing me.

So I was there and shocked like everyone else in my early rock 'n roll generation. Of course the music didn't really die. So many others carried on the music.

For the last couple years here at WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC, we've tried to post some videos that we think are special as our celebration and we always link to sites that can give you more information, as a kind of tribute to these musicians, these singer-songwriters.

We're going to post over a three day period, starting tomorrow, on Buddy, Ritchie, and J.P Richardson.

Wes

THREE STARS sung by TOMMY DEE : THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED : A TRIBUTE VIDEO PUT UP ON THE NET BY A RITCHIE VALENS FAN!

Tribute to Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P Richardson (the Big Bopper) and Roger Peterson (The Plane's Pilot!) includes radio broadcast announcing the tragic crash. Featuring Tommy Dee performing the song "3 Stars."

We're linking to the video posting website on Myspace called GOTTALOVERITCHIE! This fan site is approved by Ritchie's brother in Pacoima, California, up the road from us. I met Ritchie in New York back stage of a big Alan Freed Rock n Roll show!

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED CELEBRATION

In celebration of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper, we'd like you to use the Google Search feature on this blog to check out are posts from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Just enter the name of the artist and up comes some classic WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC posts!

BUDDY HOLLY THE BIG BOPPER RITCHIE VALENS POSTER FOR THE LAST PERFORMANCE

SEE OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED - Part of WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC HISTORY! Use the Google Search This Blog Feature!

THE BIG BOPPER

We're linking to the official BIG BOPPER site here! (
J.P. was once a prominent D.J.... as Cliff Gleaves also was once...)

GOOD NIGHT GENTLEMEN!

1959 PLANE CRASH YOUTUBE VIDEO

Buddy Knox and I were on tour when the news reached us.

(292) FEBRUARY 3 1959 BUDDY HOLLY, RITCHIE VALENS, and the BIG BOPPER

Today is the 51st anniversary of the plane crash that killed three of the biggest rock n rollers in their time...

We've blogged about these men before (and you may want to use the Google search feature to scan this blog for previous posts.)

This year we decided to post some videos throughout the day to celebrate their talent and contribution to music ...

A CELEBRATION of THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

In honor of the Big Bopper - J.P. Richardson, Buddy Holly, and Ritchie Valens, we're posting videos on our YouTube station (to the left in the sidebar) as well as a great number of posts on February 3, 2010.

You can also use the Google search feature to read past posts on these artists!

We want to thank the YOUTUBE CONTRIBUTORS who make such historical music/video posts possible!

As we see it the MUSIC of the 1950's never really died. Not with artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones covering tunes!

(186) GENE PITNEY : ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK A HEART

Gene Pitney: this blog wouldn't be complete without including him.

On one website we noticed that someone had confused me and Gene, probably because he recorded under the name Billy Bryan prior to 1960.

Gene was a songwriter who went into performance. As you may realize from reading this blog, in the Cover Tune Era the singer-songwriter was the exception. A good number of us went from performance into songwriting but Gene did both. It's difficult to do both with success and hold onto that success. A good songwriter can last past a good performer if, for instance, his looks aren't with him. And in the case of the Big Bopper - J.P Richardson and Gene Pitney, some say sadly, that it wasn't their sound or their talent but their looks that failed them on the music scene - they just weren't the idol type. Just like today Abe Lincoln probably wouldn't have had the looks and personality to make it through a Presidential campaign and to the White House.

But Gene was so talented! He co-wrote a number of hit songs for my peers including "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson.

Here's the 1961 hit Gene is known for "Only Love Can Break A Heart."






This web site has a comprehensive biography of Gene and mentions a number of his songwriting successes.

And here's a BBC report of Gene's last concert before he passed into Eternal Life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4879846.stm

Search our blog for The Crystals! Earlier we posted them singing "Little Boy" that was written by Gene!

UPDATED AUGUST 2012

(52) ELVIS WORRIES ABOUT HIS COMPETITION : WAYLON JENNINGS

Elvis also confided in me that he was worried Waylon Jennings as his competition. I honestly don't know exactly why but someone told Elvis he could sound like him. Lots of singers were imitating Elvis. Usually he was honored if one of us tried to.

Now Waylon is today known for being a Country Music "outlaw," but in 1960 Waylon was just about a year away from being on a Rock and Roll tour. Waylon was from Texas, just like Buddy Knox and Buddy Holly were, and he was once considered Holly's protege. He started out in Rockabilly.

He was on tour with the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly when the plane crash killed them. There wasn't enough room for him on the plane. He had stayed behind and avoided the same fate. I never met Waylon, but I admired him. Buddy Knox and I knew that he had been shaken, confronting Fate and his own mortality after that crash. Just as we had.

RCS discography for Waylon in his early years.

http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/j/jenn1000.htm

And here is Waylon's official website linked above!

Replaced 1/11/2011 with WAYLON JENNINGS OFFICIAL (WITH WILLIE NELSON)

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED - THE BIG BOPPER - J.P. RICHARDSON (43-part three)

The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, is best known for his hit record "Chantilly Lace." I never met J.P. so I have little personal to say about him. He's part of the history of rock and roll and Elvis and I did love "Chantilly Lace," that part about "a wiggle in her walk..." The thing about people at the height of their fame who die unexpectedly is that you never know what they would have become if they had lived. The death of JP, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly had Buddy Knox and me wondering about our mortality.
 

VIDEO REPLACED JANUARY 2014