Ritchie Valens
The Day The Music Died
Ritchie and his guitar
These are a few key moments in Ritchie Valens's life:
- 1941: Ritchie was born as Richard Steven Valenzuela in Los Angeles, California.
- 1957: He joined a band as a guitarist and also became the vocalist when the the main vocalist left. On October 19th 1957 he debuted with the Silhouettes.
- 1958: His first audition got him a spot with Del-Fi. At that point he changed his name from Richard to Ritchie and his last name to Valens. Not long after he made the decision to drop out of high school to focus on his music carrer.
- 1959: Valens was on tour,The Winter Dance Party, in the Midwest with Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Frankie Sardo. Unfortunately the tour buses's heaters broke down and they could no longer travel by road. Many of the artists got sick with flu or frostbite. On February 2, Ritchie and Buddy and J.P Richardson got on an airplane they charted to get to the next performance location. However, the airplane crashed not long after take off.
"Because Ritchie Valens WAS the real deal. He was only starting, but in the time he spent in the business, he made big impact. I don't know if anybody could have made a bigger one."
Enjoy this song and if you want to know more check out this link.
"Because Ritchie Valens WAS the real deal. He was only starting, but in the time he spent in the business, he made big impact. I don't know if anybody could have made a bigger one."
Enjoy this song and if you want to know more check out this link.