Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) have been killed together today in a severe plane crash in snowy Iowa.
On February 3, 1959, the worst accident in rock and roll history occurred when three famous musicians died in the same plane crash. Namely, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) were traveling that day on a small Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft (with only a pilot and three passengers) from Iowa to Minnesota on their music tour.
Light snow fell and the pilot was 21-year-old Roger Peterson, who did not have enough experience to fly in such weather. They crashed after just ten kilometers of flight into a cornfield north of the airport. They hit the ground at a speed of about 270 kilometers per hour and all four died from the impact. In the song American Pie, today’s tragic day is called The Day the Music Died.
