February 3rd, 2024
On this day in 1959, American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed when their chartered plane crashed in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorehead, Minnesota. Dion DiMucci of Dion and the Belmonts reportedly gave up his seat to Valens and survived the crash. Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit "American Pie," which refers to February 3, 1959 as "the day the music died."
Source: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-day-the-music-died
