Buddy Holly Plane Crash, Clear Lake, Iowa, USA
Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, Ritchie Valens, and Dion rocked the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2, 1959. This was just another stop on a long, disastrous tour. The tour bus broke down in below freezing temperatures. Frostbite hospitalized the drummer. Almost everyone had the flu. They had gone almost two weeks without doing laundry or getting rest. Buddy Holly had enough.
He chartered a plane, and after a bit of friendly negotiating for a seat, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper joined the flight to the next stop. The plane crashed six miles outside of Clear Lake. Today the Surf Ballroom is one of the last operational ballrooms of the era. It is a museum with memorials to the young musicians who died that night. Visitors can also visit the crash site, thanks to the generosity of the private property owner.
