48th Anniversary The Day the Music Died

[Guest guest]

Following the February 2, 1959 performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear

Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take him and his

new Crickets band (Tommy Allsup, Carl Bunch and Waylon Jennings) to Fargo,

North Dakota. Carl Bunch did not take the flight as he was hospitalized for

frostbite three days earlier. J.P. , " The Big Bopper " came down

with the flu and didn't feel comfortable on the bus, so Jennings gave his

plane seat to him. Ritchie Valens had never flown on a small plane and

requested Allsup's seat. They flipped a coin, Valens called heads and won

the toss. The four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off in extremely cold

but otherwise good flying weather at around 1:05 A.M. but crashed only a few

minutes after takeoff. The wreckage was discovered several hours later by

the plane's owner, Jerry Dwyer, some 8 miles distant from the airport, on

the property of Albert Juhl. The crash killed Holly, Valens, , and

the 21-year-old pilot, , leaving Holly's pregnant bride,

Elena Holly, a widow (she miscarried soon after).

While theories yet abound as to the exact cause of the crash that killed

Buddy Holly, an official determination of pilot error was rendered by the

Civil Aeronautics Board (one of the predecessors of the Federal Aviation

Administration).

[Guest guest]

Tommy Allsup resides near and works in Azle at the Common Ground Studios

on West Main. http://www.westmainproductions.com

They have recently released a 100th anniversary CD of Bob Will's birth

date with current and former stars of many genres. Not pertinent to EMS,

but pertinent to Dr. Bledsoe's story.

Lt. Steve Lemming, AAS, LP

EMS Administration Officer

C-Shift

Azle, Texas Fire Department

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48th Anniversary The Day the Music Died

Following the February 2, 1959 performance at the Surf Ballroom

in Clear

Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take

him and his

new Crickets band (Tommy Allsup, Carl Bunch and Waylon Jennings)

to Fargo,

North Dakota. Carl Bunch did not take the flight as he was

hospitalized for

frostbite three days earlier. J.P. , " The Big Bopper "

came down

with the flu and didn't feel comfortable on the bus, so Jennings

gave his

plane seat to him. Ritchie Valens had never flown on a small

plane and

requested Allsup's seat. They flipped a coin, Valens called

heads and won

the toss. The four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off in

extremely cold

but otherwise good flying weather at around 1:05 A.M. but

crashed only a few

minutes after takeoff. The wreckage was discovered several hours

later by

the plane's owner, Jerry Dwyer, some 8 miles distant from the

airport, on

the property of Albert Juhl. The crash killed Holly, Valens,

, and

the 21-year-old pilot, , leaving Holly's pregnant

bride,

Elena Holly, a widow (she miscarried soon after).

While theories yet abound as to the exact cause of the crash

that killed

Buddy Holly, an official determination of pilot error was

rendered by the

Civil Aeronautics Board (one of the predecessors of the Federal

Aviation

Administration).

[Guest guest]

I was 19 at the time and had been a regular listener of the " Big Bopper " on

KFDM radio in Beaumont. I was in the service when this crash occurred. I

later moved back to Beaumont after serving and was lucky enough to become very

good friends with Teencie Wenner, his widow. Her sons by a second

marriage played baseball in the same league that I coached. I also became

associated with J. P. Junior thru this time. Unfortunately Teencie passed

away a few short years ago, but her daughter is my dental tech and I am still

close to her son's. They have all done well for themselves and I am proud to

have been able to share some great stories with them.

Andy

[Guest guest]

Good piece of American nostalgia. Don't forget about the song American Pie by

Don McClean about Buddy Holly.

Here is a link to some interesting song facts.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1193

Larry D.

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