Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was 22 years old when he set out on the Winter Dance Party tour in January 1959.
Richard Steven Valenzuela, known as Ritchie Valens, was 17 years old when he was asked to join Buddy Holly on the Winter Dance Party tour in January 1959.
Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson, Jr., better known as The Big Bopper, was 28 years old when he was asked to perform on the Winter Dance Party tour in January 1959.
Please click on this photo, which in reality is a YouTube video, and listen to Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper talk about the “upcoming” Winter Dance Party tour.
The 1959 Winter Dance Party was a scheduled 24-show barnstorming tour of the Midwest orchestrated by the General Artists Corporation. The entire lineup featured headliners Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Dion DiMucci – along with his Belmont’s Carlo Mastrangelo and Fred Milano, The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), and Frankie Sardo. Joining those stars were backing guitarists Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup, drummer Carl Bunch, and Thom Mason on saxophone.
JANUARY 23, 1959
The Winter Dance Party kicked-off at George Devine’s Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After a brief rehearsal in Chicago the previous day, the entourage arrived by bus at 9:00pm, which was an hour late, likely due to the 13 inches of snow that had blanketed Milwaukee. The ballroom was packed with an estimated 6,000 screaming fans who got what they came for – pure, untamed rock and roll. Tom and I went inside the building, but unfortunately, a woman at the box office said we couldn’t see the stage area due to staffing issues.
Ritchie Valens was photographed at the Million Dollar Ballroom by 16-year-old Donna Fischer Doffing, who had met Ritchie prior to the show.
JANUARY 24, 1959
The bus carrying the Winter Dance Party troupe travelled 40 miles south from Milwaukee to the Eagles Ballroom, located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. More than 1,500 star-struck teenagers packed the ballroom to see some of the biggest recording stars in America. The show at the Eagles Ballroom was emceed and hosted by WGN’s Jim Lounsbury. On the morning Tom and I visited the ballroom, the doors to the building were locked.
Photographer Tony Szikil snapped this image at the Eagles Ballroom shortly after the show was over. From left to right – Frankie Sardo, Emcee Jim Lounsbury, The Big Bopper, local DJ Ed Oxnar, and Buddy Holly.
JANUARY 25, 1959
After an all-night 395-mile bus ride to the northwest from Kenosha, the performers arrived in Mankato, Minnesota around mid-day. They checked into the Hotel Burton where they got some rest before the 7:30pm show.
Over 1,500 teenagers each paid $1.50 and packed the Kato Ballroom’s dance floor to see the show emceed by Bill Diehl, the popular DJ out of Minneapolis. When the performers began to play, some of the huge crowd had pressed closer – some of whom were able to sit at the front of the low stage during the show.
Dion DiMucci was photographed during his set at the Kato Ballroom, which featured his hit song ‘I Wonder Why’.
JANUARY 26, 1959
Following a 167-mile ride from Mankato to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the show at Fournier’s Ballroom began at 7:00pm. While the teenagers paid $1.00 in advance, or $1.25 at the door, parents were allowed inside the ballroom for free. I’m standing at the site of Fournier’s Ballroom, which was demolished in December 1971 and replaced with a parking lot for the Eau Claire County Courthouse.
This photo of the Fournier’s Ballroom was taken just prior to its demolition in December 1971.
Buddy Holly was photographed as he performed at Fournier’s Ballroom on January 26, 1959. Guitarists Waylon Jennings (left) and Tommy Allsup can be seen in the image as well.
JANUARY 27, 1959
The next stop on the tour was the Fiesta Ballroom in Montevideo, Minnesota, which was roughly 220 miles due west of Eau Claire. Of all the cities hosting the Winter Dance Party shows, Montevideo was the smallest. I’m standing at the site where the Fiesta Ballroom once stood before it was destroyed by fire in 1965.
Even though Montevideo was the smallest city on the entire Winter Dance Party tour schedule, the Fiesta Ballroom was packed with teenagers on the night of January 27, 1959. And thankfully one of those ticket holders to the show, a girl by the name of Jane Ellefson, brought her camera and captured closeup photos of the performers from her position near the front of the Fiesta stage.
Through the lens of her camera, Jane Ellefson caught The Big Bopper singing his song ‘Big Bopper’s Wedding’ in front of the packed crowd.
Following his performance at the Fiesta Ballroom, where he sang ‘La Bamba’ and ‘Donna’, Ritchie Valens was spotted bowling a game at Melody Lanes in Montevideo.
I’m standing in front of Hotel Hunt, where the Winter Dance Party performers spent the night after their show at the Fiesta Ballroom. The following morning, they headed for St. Paul, Minnesota.
JANUARY 28, 1959
After a 140-mile ride to the east of Montevideo, the Winter Dance Party tour bus arrived at the Promenade Ballroom in St. Paul, Minnesota. An overcapacity crowd of 2,000 people each paid $1.25 and jammed the Prom to see the show that was emceed by DJ Bill Diehl and kicked-off by a local band known as the Del-Ricos. In this image, I’m standing at the site of the Promenade Ballroom, which was demolished on September 29, 1987 to make way for an auto repair shop.
This was the historic Promenade Ballroom in St. Paul, Minnesota before it met its fate in 1987.
This image of Buddy Holly was captured backstage at the Promenade Ballroom on January 28, 1959.
JANUARY 29, 1959
After a long and cold 326-mile ride through the frigid night, the Rock and Rollers arrived in Davenport, Iowa where they were scheduled to perform two shows billed as the ‘Concert of Stars’ that was sponsored by Davenport’s radio station The Big KSTT. Admission to either of the two shows was $1.50, including tax.
The Capitol Theater was the only venue of the first eleven which featured permanent seats for the audience. Due to the ongoing renovations inside the theater during our visit, I wasn’t able to stand on the historic stage where Rock and Roll history was made.
Ritchie and The Bopper had fun as they entertained the huge audience at the Capitol Theater in Davenport, Iowa.
JANUARY 30, 1959
At one point during the 233-mile drive from Davenport to the Laramar Ballroom in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Winter Dance Party tour had detoured to the small town of Tipton where the bus driver had the insufficient heater repaired. When the bus finally arrived late in the freezing cold and blowing snow, the performers hit the Larmar’s stage and entertained roughly 1,000 screaming teenagers who had paid $1.50 admission. The price for adults, who were secluded to the balcony and weren’t allowed to dance, paid one dollar to see the show and watch their enthusiastic kids.
While I stood on the historic stage at the Laramar Ballroom, I envisioned Buddy Holly standing in the same spot as he sang ‘Rave On’.
Buddy Holly was photographed as he performed with Tommy Allsup at the Laramar Ballroom. Drummer Carl Bunch can be seen in the background.
JANUARY 31, 1959
Following another cold night on the bus during the 375-mile drive from Fort Dodge, Iowa to the Duluth Armory in Duluth, Minnesota, Buddy Holly took the stage and inspired a youngster in the audience. The 17-year-old high school student from Hibbing, Minnesota was Robert Zimmerman, who later became known as Bob Dylan. While the Duluth Armory was under major renovations during our visit, my photographer had made advanced reservations with the director, Mark Poirier, for an extensive tour.
Although the historic Duluth Armory stage was in a state of complete negligence and disrepair, it was one of the most memorable places I’ve ever been that was associated with the Winter Dance Party tour. I knew the maple boards below my base were part of the original stage where Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper stood during their 1959 show, which was attended by a 17-year-old Bob Dylan.
With the stage door entrance to my far right, I stood between the two dressing rooms at the Duluth Armory. We were told the room to my left was the dressing room used by Buddy Holly.
During his performance at the Duluth Armory, Buddy Holly made eye contact with a young Bob Dylan, who was standing in front of the stage. Drummer Carl Bunch, seated at the drum kit behind Holly, suffered severe frostbitten feet and was hospitalized just a few hours after this show.
I’m standing on Highway 51 roughly ten miles south of Hurley, Wisconsin. It was here, a few hours after their show at the Duluth Armory, where the Winter Dance Party tour bus broke down in the 35-degree-below-zero temperatures during the 340-mile drive to Appleton, Wisconsin for a scheduled afternoon matinee show on February 1, 1959. In an effort to keep from freezing to death, the performers burned newspapers on the bus. When they were finally rescued by a sheriff’s officer, the entertainers were transported back to Hurley – although drummer Carl Bunch was taken to a hospital in Ironwood, Michigan due to having frostbitten feet.
Once they were rescued along the highway, the frozen performers were taken to this building behind me, known as Club Carnival, where they were fed and warmed up. When they finished eating, the entertainers were taken to the St. James Hotel in nearby Ironwood, Michigan where they spent the night.
This was J.P. Richardson’s original receipt for his stay at the St. James Hotel. This receipt was found in The Bopper’s belongings recovered after the plane crash.
FEBRUARY 1, 1959
After they had spent the night in Ironwood, Michigan when their bus broke down just one hundred miles into their trip south from the Duluth Armory, the Winter Dance Party performers traveled the remaining 225 miles by train and Greyhound bus the following day to the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Although they arrived just in time for their 8:00pm show, the afternoon concert in Appleton was cancelled due to the unscheduled and untimely delay.
I’m standing on the new section of stage at the Riverside Ballroom, which was added to the original drum riser in the background for insurance purposes. The original stage where the Winter Dance Party musicians stood and played was still in place – however, it was roughly 18 inches below my feet.
Buddy Holly was energetic as he amazed the packed Riverside Ballroom crowd, who paid only 90 cents if they bought an advanced ticket to the show. At the door, for those who didn’t have an advanced ticket, the price went up to $1.25.
With regular drummer Carl Bunch still hospitalized in Ironwood, Michigan, Ritchie Valens played drums during Buddy Holly’s set at the Riverside Ballroom.
With reflections of the Winter Dance Party flooding my resin mind, I stood in the ‘Green Room’ at the Riverside. It was in this room where the performers made final preparations before going on stage.
Even though these wooden steps were likely not the original ones seen in Larry Matti’s famous images, it was still an awesome experience to replicate the photo taken of Buddy Holly on February 1, 1959 in the same backstage area of the ballroom.
One of the most iconic images of Buddy Holly taken during the Winter Dance Party tour was captured by Larry Matti backstage at the Riverside Ballroom shortly after the show had finished. It was likely around this time when Holly made up his mind to charter a flight following the Surf Ballroom show the next night. Buddy was tired of being cold on the cramped bus; plus, he wanted to get some of his dirty laundry washed.
FEBRUARY 2, 1959
After an extremely long and cold 358-mile ride from the Riverside Ballroom to the Surf Ballroom, the Winter Dance Party tour limped into Clear Lake, Iowa with cold, hungry, and tired performers. As soon as they arrived, Buddy Holly asked Surf manager Carroll Anderson to hire a charter airplane company so he, Waylon Jennings, and Tommy Allsup could fly to their next night’s gig in Moorhead, Minnesota, which was roughly 350 miles to the north.
I was at a loss for words when I stood on the historic stage at the Surf Ballroom. From my position on the original stage where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper stood and performed for the last time, I envisioned the dance floor packed with over 1,500 screaming teenagers who had paid $1.25 for a ticket to one of the most famous shows in Rock and Roll history. The show was emceed by Bob Hale, a DJ for radio station KRIB in Mason City, Iowa, which sponsored the event.
Ritchie Valens, who had been nationally known for about six months before the show, sang five songs at the Surf Ballroom. Ritchie’s setlist was ‘La Bamba’, ‘Come On, Let’s Go’, ‘Donna’, ‘Fast Freight’, and ‘Framed’. Waylon Jennings was the bass player on the left side of the image, Tommy Allsup was pictured on the right side, while Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts played drums in place of the frostbitten Carl Bunch, who was still hospitalized in Ironwood, Michigan.
I’m standing at the ‘Green Room’ entrance doorway at the side of the Surf Ballroom stage. At one point during the night, Buddy Holly had discovered his bassist, Waylon Jennings, had given up his seat on the plane to The Big Bopper, who was sick with the flu. Holly was leaning back in a chair in the ‘Green Room’ when he said to Jennings, “So, you’re not going on the plane tonight, huh?” When Waylon told him he wasn’t, Buddy said, “Well, I hope your old bus freezes up.” Jennings shot back, “Well, I hope your old plane crashes.” Even though he was only joking, Waylon Jennings was haunted by that statement for the rest of his life.
Buddy Holly was photographed by Mary Gerber during his performance at the Surf Ballroom. Holly’s eleven-song set list featured ‘Gotta Travel On’, ‘Salty Dog Rag’, ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’, ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘That’ll Be the Day’, ‘It’s So Easy’, ‘Everyday’, ‘Oh, Boy!’, ‘Early in the Morning’, ‘Rave On!’, and ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’.
This was Buddy Holly’s Fender Stratocaster guitar he played while on the Winter Dance Party tour, including his last show at the Surf Ballroom on February 2, 1959
This pay phone at the Surf Ballroom was used by Buddy Holly to call his wife Maria Elena, who was back at their apartment in New York City. The phone was also used by Ritchie Valens when he called his manager Bob Keene in between sets.
The show at the Surf began at 8pm and the first set ended around 9:30pm. After a half hour intermission, the performers each played a second set. At roughly 11:30pm, all of the stars joined Buddy Holly on stage for one final song. Just before they started playing ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’, Holly told the 1,500 fans in attendance, “Hey, we’d love to do more, but we have a plane to catch. We’ll be back in the spring for the Spring Dance Party!”
When the show had concluded, Ritchie Valens was in the ‘Green Room’ signing autographs when Tommy Allsup entered and told the singer they were leaving. At that moment, Valens once again asked Allsup for his seat on the plane. The guitar player relented and said he would flip a coin for the seat. Allsup took a fifty-cent coin from his pants pocket and told Valens to “call it”. Ritchie called “heads” and won the seat on the plane.
FEBRUARY 3, 1959
Once the other performers had loaded their gear and boarded the bus for the long trip to Moorhead, Minnesota, Surf Ballroom manager Carroll Anderson drove Buddy, Ritchie, and J.P. to the Mason City Municipal Airport in his station wagon. During the short three-mile drive to the airport, light snow was illuminated by the wagon’s headlights as it blew across the road. When they arrived at the airport at 12:40am, the musicians were greeted by Dwyer Flying Service owner Jerry Dwyer and 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson. After each singer paid their fee, which was $108.00 for the three passengers, they boarded the Beechcraft Bonanza airplane. Buddy shook Anderson’s hand, thanked him for the ride, and took his seat alongside the pilot.
At 12:55am, Pilot Roger Peterson guided his plane down runway 17 and took off on a southernly path. Seconds after takeoff, Peterson banked his plane 180 degrees to the left and passed the airport to the east as they began the three-and-half-hour flight towards Fargo’s Hector International Airport.
This was the view I had of Runway 17, which today is Runway 18, at Mason City Municipal Airport in Clear Lake, Iowa. In my mind, it was 12:55am on February 3, 1959, and I watched as Roger Peterson’s plane came down the runway towards me. I wanted to wave as the plane flew directly overhead and soon banked 180 degrees the left before it disappeared out of sight in the distance.
Five minutes after takeoff, the Beechcraft Bonanza airplane crashed into a frozen cornfield roughly six miles northwest of the airport. The wreckage was discovered by Jerry Dwyer at 9:30am after he flew his own plane along the flight path when he learned Peterson hadn’t arrived in Fargo. In this image, I’m standing at the crash site, located along the fence line in a cornfield owned by Albert Juhl in 1959.
The bodies of the three musicians had been ejected from the plane, while Roger Peterson’s body was still strapped in his seat within the mangled fuselage. Ritchie Valens, in the dark coat, was found lying 17 feet directly south of the wreckage. Buddy Holly, wearing the light coat, was discovered lying 17 feet southwest of the wreckage. The body of J.P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, had been thrown roughly 40 feet into the frozen field owned by Juhl’s neighbor, Oscar Moffett.
Three of America’s biggest Rock and Roll stars perished here on February 3, 1959 – which is known as The Day the Music Died.
After Jerry Dwyer had reported the crash site at 9:30am, investigators swarmed to Albert Juhl’s field while Cerro Gordo County coroner Ralph E. Smiley examined the bodies. Among the personal effects collected at the crash scene, each deceased musician had cash on their person – which Smiley took $11.65 from each singer for his fee.
The cigarette lighter and four dice found in The Big Bopper’s pocket at the crash site. During the long rides on the tour bus, the performers were known to use The Bopper’s dice to gamble. Investigators also discovered Richardson had $272.53 on his person.
The Big Bopper’s hairbrush and bottle of Bufferin tablets, which he likely purchased to help combat his flu-like symptoms during the tour.
J.P. Richardson’s monogrammed brief case was also found at the crash site. A notebook, with lyrics to a new song The Bopper was working on, was found inside the case.
This was Ritchie Valens’ wallet he was carrying when he perished during the plane crash. Ritchie, who was only 17 years old, had $22.15 and two $50 uncashed checks on his person when he died.
Perhaps the most iconic artifact from the plane crash was Buddy Holly’s signature Faiosa-framed glasses, which had been thrown clear of the site and buried in the snow during the violent crash. Two months later, Albert Juhl found the glasses in his field and turned them in to the sheriff’s department. Buddy’s glasses remained in a sealed manila envelope marked ‘Rec’d April 7, 1959’ where they sat undisturbed in a locked cabinet within the sheriff’s office until February 29, 1980.
When Buddy Holly’s glasses were discovered in 1980, they were turned over to the Holley family. After a legal fight, they ended up in the hands of Buddy’s widow, Maria Elena Holley, who sold them to the Lubbock Civic Center for $80,000. Eventually the iconic glasses were donated to the Buddy Holly Center where they reside on display today.
As the information plaque states, this was the headset from the airplane that carried Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959. Was this the headset used by pilot Roger Peterson during the ill-fated flight or another set found in the cockpit?
Following the discovery of the plane crash and subsequent investigation, the bodies of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens were brought to the Hogan-McKee Funeral Home in Mason City, Iowa where they were embalmed by funeral director Marvin D. McKee. The bodies of J.P. Richardson and Roger Peterson were taken to the Wilcox Funeral Home where they were embalmed.
FEBRUARY 6. 1959
Following a funeral service at St. Paul Lutheran Church in his hometown of Alta, Iowa, pilot Roger Peterson was laid to rest at Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery near Storm Lake, Iowa on February 6th. Peterson’s grave is marked by the white floral arrangement at the right side of the image.
Roger Peterson was 21 years old when he was killed on February 3, 1959. Peterson left behind his widow, Deanne, his high school sweetheart whom he married five months earlier on September 14, 1958.
FEBRUARY 7, 1959
Buddy Holly’s funeral was held on February 7th at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas. The service was officiated by Ben D. Johnson, who had presided at Buddy and Maria Elena’s wedding just months earlier. The pallbearers were Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, Bob Montgomery, and Sonny Curtis. Buddy’s widow did not attend the funeral, nor has she ever visited his gravesite.
Following his funeral, Buddy Holly was laid to rest in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. On June 19, 1972, Buddy’s nephew, Lee Weir, died at age 17 and was buried alongside Holly. Lee’s grave is to my immediate right in this image. Buddy’s father, Lawrence, passed away on July 8, 1985 and was buried next to his son. And on May 20, 1990, Ella Holley, Buddy’s mother, died at age 87 and was buried next to her husband Lawrence.
Buddy Holly was 22 years old when he was killed on February 3, 1959. Holly left behind his widow, Maria Elena Holly, whom he married on August 15, 1958. Maria Elena was pregnant with their first child when Buddy was killed, and she suffered a miscarriage the following day.
FEBRUARY 7, 1959
Following a funeral service at Noble Chapel Funeral Home in San Fernando Valley, California, the casket containing the remains of Ritchie Valens arrived at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in a copper-colored hearse before he was laid to rest.
Ritchie Valens was only 17 years old when he was killed on February 3, 1959. When Ritchie’s mother, Concepcion “Concha” Valenzuela, passed away on October 18, 1987, she was laid to rest alongside her son.
The grave of Frank L. Reyes was located alongside the Valenzuela’s gravesite, and it turned out that Frank was Ritchie’s grandfather, who died on January 28, 1957. Ritchie developed a fear of flying in 1957 when a freak mid-air plane collision occurred over his junior high school in Pacoima. Although Valens was attending his grandfather’s funeral and not in school that day, the incident killed three students and injured 74 others.
FEBRUARY 7, 1959
J.P. Richardson Jr., The Big Bopper, was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park in Beaumont, Texas following his death on February 3rd. The guitar floral arrangement was sent by U.S. Army Private Elvis Presley.
From February 7, 1959 until March 8, 2007, The Big Bopper had rested in peace at Forest Lawn. But after Richardson was exhumed in 2007, where an examination of his body was conducted, he was re-interred alongside his wife, Adrianne “Teetsie” Wenner, who had passed away on January 4, 2007.
Of the three stars killed in the plane crash on February 3, 1959, The Big Bopper was the most underrated of them all. And the funny thing was, everyone who was lucky enough to have attended the show at the Surf Ballroom that fateful night said it was The Bopper who stole the show. Oh, Buddy sang his hits, and the girls loved the young and shy Ritchie – but it was the larger-than-life 28-year-old who bounced around the stage with an energetic flair like none other. Buddy Holly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and Ritchie Valens followed in 2001. J.P. Richardson wrote 38 songs during his lifetime and recorded 21 of them – even though his specialty was novelty songs. The Bopper was also a visionary who came up with the idea for music videos. But to this day, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has yet to induct the late, great J.P. Richardson into its hallowed halls – and until that happens, it will continue to be known as the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame, at least to me.
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 a while.
But February made me shiver, With every paper I’d deliver; Bad news on the doorstep I couldn’t take one more step. I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride; But something touched me deep inside The day the music died.
My name is Thomas Watson and I've been a U.S. history fanatic since I was 9 years old. In 2013, I decided to take my passion to the next level when I purchased a Thomas Jefferson bobble head with the sole intention of photographing that bobble head at Presidential sites. From that first day on July 10, 2013 at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio, this journey has taken on a life of its own. Now, nearly 40,000 miles later, I thought it was time to share the experiences, stories, and photos of Jefferson's travels. Keep in mind, this entire venture has been done with the deepest respect for the men who held the office as our President; no matter what their political affiliations, personal ambitions, or public scandals may have been. This blog is intended to be a true tribute to the Presidents of the United States and this story will be told Through the Eyes of Jefferson. I hope you enjoy the ride!
