Died at 17yo in 1959. What a talent.
Main article:
The Day the Music Died
After the February 2, 1959, performance in
Clear Lake, Iowa (which ended around midnight), Holly, Richardson, and Valens flew out of the
Mason City airport in a small plane that Holly had chartered. Valens was on the plane because he won a coin toss with Holly's backup guitarist
Tommy Allsup. Holly's bassist,
Waylon Jennings, voluntarily gave up his seat on the plane to
J.P. Richardson, who was ill with the flu.
[13] At approximately 12:55 am on February 3, 1959, the three-passenger
Beechcraft Bonanza departed for
Fargo, North Dakota, and crashed a few minutes after takeoff for reasons still unknown. The crash killed all three passengers and pilot Roger Peterson instantly upon impact. As with Holly and Richardson, Valens suffered massive and unsurvivable head injuries along with
blunt force trauma to the chest. At just 17 years old, Valens was the youngest to die in the crash.
The tragedy inspired singer
Don McLean to write his 1971 hit "
American Pie", immortalizing February 3 as "The Day the Music Died". Valens's remains were buried at
San Fernando Mission Cemetery,
Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California.