European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Long Long time ago i can still remember How that music used to make me smile. And i knew if i had my Chance that i could make those people dance and maybe they d be Happy for awhile. But february made me shiver with evry paper i d deliver. Bad news on the Doorstep. I could t take one More step. I can t remember if i cried when i read about his widowed Bride. Something touched me deep inside the Day the music  Don Mclean american pie. By David Bauder associated press a after three decades the crickets Are looking to Complete the trip their Leader buddy Holly could  feb. 3,1989, the band is booked to perform in Fargo n.d., the City Holly Ritchie Valens and . Big bopper Richardson were scheduled to play on that Date 30 years ago. Instead their plane crashed in a snowstorm killing All three musicians and their Pilot. Immortalized As the Day the music died in Don Mclean s 1972 epic pop song american pie the plane crash was the first great Rock tragedy. It s going to feel a Little strange i la have to admit said Jerry Allison one of two original crickets still playing with the band of the Fargo Date. I still miss buddy because he and i grew up  in less innocent times musicians would be struck Down by drugs drink cars and suicide. Their deaths form a macabre Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Among them John Lennon Marvin Gaye Sam Cooke Andy Gibb Phil Ochs Jim Morrison Janis Joplin Peter Tosh Paul Butterfield Elvis Presley Jimi Hendrix Brian Jones Keith Moon. But when Holly s tour plane went Down seven Miles North of Clear Lake Iowa kids wore Black armbands to school to Honor stars not much older than themselves. Holly was Only 22 when he died Valens was 17. Both were at the beginning of their careers but left behind enough work to create a sense of unfulfilled potential that nags today. Along with Chuck Berry Rock n Roll s first great poet Holly was one of the first musicians in the Rock Era to write much of his own material. He was the first to Experiment with now common studio techniques such As overdubbing and his Hiccup Ping vocal style influenced such followers As Paul Mccartney who now owns the rights to Holly s songs. Books have been written about the Way he structured his songs Scott Isler senior editor of musician Magazine said of the spare Rock that propelled Holly through such hits As Peggy sue rave on not fade away and it s so easy. His music lives today on compact disks a laser driven technology of which Holly probably would not have dreamed and in automobile commercials a setting which May have made him cringe. Valens legacy is More modest although he was put Back in the Public Eye with the 1987 movie la Bamba. The band los Lobos also Refe leased Valens song of the same name that year and made it a hit. Valens1 other hits included Donna and come on let s go. The big bopper a former disc jockey was known for his song Chantilly lace. Through movies of the lives of Holly and Valens one has t been made on Richardson millions of people have Learned How Holly chartered a plane because he wanted to hurry to Fargo to get his laundry done. The crickets weren t with Holly on his final tour. They stayed behind in Lubbock Texas when Holly left his Hometown to get married in new York City. Crickets guitarist Sonny Curtis Shook Allison awake the morning after with news of the crash. The whole thing was unbelievable said Allison who would rather celebrate the anniversary of Holly s birth sept. 7,1936 than the Day of his death. But the crickets Are a working country band and they Don t shy away from gigs or Holly s  co wrote some of Holly s Best known songs including that la be the Day. Clear Lake has remembered the three artists with an annual anniversary concert held for the last 10 years at the surf ballroom where they gave their final performance. This year s event is already sold out. They re proud of buddy Holly and they like to flaunt the idea this is where buddy Holly gave his last concert said disc jockey Daryl Hensley organizer of the event. It was 30 years ago this week that Rock n rollers buddy Holly Abov Ritchie Valens top right and . Big bopper Richardson were killed in a plane crash. The Accident was Rock s first great tragedy. A 3 this year s concert stars the diamonds Bobby Vee and Freddie Boom Boom Cannon Rock relics from the Holly Era. Vee took Over Holly s scheduled appearance the night after the crash. Meanwhile the historical society in Beaumont Texas Richardson s Hometown plans to raise two statues on feb. 3 one of buddy Holly Richardson and Valens and a second of the big bopper alone. Musicians have Long speculated where Holly s Muse would have taken him had he lived. He was recording with a full orchestra shortly before he died and confided that he wanted to make gospel music like Ray Charles Allison said. Would he have turned into a supper club crooner or would he have gone on to write some incredible stuff and break barriers Down Isler said. Referring to the crash As the Day the music died is a bit hyperbolic although it makes a great song Lyric Isler said. When american pie came out Allison went to a record store and bought it pleased that another musician thought so fondly of Holly. He even backed Mclean at a concert in Texas where the Singer songwriter Sang the eight minute fable littered with obscure musical metaphors. Bye Bye miss american pie drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry them Good Ole boys were Drinkin whiskey and Rye "singin1 this la be the Day that 1  but he has one regret. I d like to sit Down with him sometime and say what do you mean by All these different things " William Griggs remembers being rocked by the news of Holly s death when he was taking a lunch break from school. Griggs president of the buddy Holly memorial society recently moved from Connecticut to Lubbock. He said he visits Holly s Mother every few months to update her on fan club activities. Although devoting much of his life to Holly Griggs tries not to inflate the Star s reputation which often happens to artists who die Young. So Many artists who live on to their 40s and 50s had some failures in their lives Griggs said. People like buddy Holly James Dean and  never had a Chance to  top of the charts top pop singles 1. When i m with you sheriff 2. Straight up Paula Abdul 3. When the children cry White lion 4. Born to be my baby Bon Jovi 5. Wild thing tone Loc 6. Armageddon it def Leppard 7. The Way you love me Karyn White 8. Don t Rush me Taylor Dayne 9. All this time Tiffany 10. Two hearts Phil Collins top up s 1. Don t be cruel Bobby Brown 2. Appetite for destruction guns n roses 3. Travelling wilbury travelling wilbury 4. Open up and say Ash Poison 5. G n r lies guns n roses 6. New Jersey Bon Jovi 7. Hysteria def Leppard 8 giving you the Best that i got Anita Baker 9. Shooting rubber bands at the stars Edie Brickell & the new bohemians 10. Rattle and hum u2 top country singles 1. What i d say Earl Thomas Conley 2. Song of the South Alabama 3. Burnin a Hole in my heart skip Ewing 4. Big wheels in the Moonlight Dan seals 5.1 Sang Dixie Dwight Yoakam 6. Life As we knew of Kathy Mattea 7. Deeper than the holler Randy Travis 8.1 still believe in you the desert Rose band 9. Don t waste it on the blues Gene Watson 10. Highway robbery Tanya Tucker top Black singles 1. Can you stand the rain new edition 2. Can you read my lips z looke 3. Superwoman Karyn White 4. So Good Al Jarreau 5. She won t talk to me Luther Vandross 6. Baby doll Tony Toni Tonel 7. Wild thing tone Loc 8. This time Kiara 9. Roni Bobby brown10. Take me where you want to Gerald Alston top pop cd s 1. Travelling wilbury travelling wilbury 2. Shooting rubber bands at the stars Edie Brickell & the new bohemians 3. Rattle and hum u2 4. A show of hands Rush 5. Greatest hits Fleetwood Mac 6. Giving you the Best that i got Anita Baker 7. Silhouette Kenny g. 8. Delicate sound of Thunder Pink Floyd 9. Green . 10. Appetite for destruction guns n roses wednesday february 1, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17