The Day The Music Died : Visiting The Crash Site & Final Moments
Visited Clear Lake Iowa to relive the final day of Buddy Holly , The Big Bopper and Richie Valens . Known as The Day The Music Died
Transcript
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welcome everyone Adam the whoo here
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coming to you from Clear Lake Iowa in
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early February 1959 a tragic event that
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changed history took place in this small
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community the day the music died Ritchie
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Valens Buddy Holly and JP Richardson
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known as the Big Bopper perished in a
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plane crash just on the outskirts of
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town after playing a show about a third
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of the way through their scheduled tour
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I want to retrace the steps of that
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fateful day
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join me shall you a February 2nd the
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entertainers would have made their way
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through downtown about to arrive at the
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eleventh night of the tour's venue right
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here at the Surf ballroom which all
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these years later still holds it's very
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vintage
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esque look and they have erected the
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structure a memorial to those that
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passed not only the performers that took
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the stage inside but also the pilot who
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also passed away on that small airplane
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their earthly life tragically ended 5.2
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miles northwest of the Mason City
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Airport the music however lives on
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seeing all this snow definitely gives an
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interesting ambiance of what it would
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have been like the same moment they were
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loading their equipment and about to go
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inside the venue through that door front
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entrance still looks the same and the
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ticket booth still remains you would
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have purchased a ticket major way inside
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these doors to see the show few
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buildings in existence today represent a
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complete shift in our musical history
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the surf is the bedrock of where the
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sound and attitude of rock and roll
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change forever each of their signature
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is located below their photos
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and a frame right here as you first walk
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in very distinct looking carpet and
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pineapples lined the hallway as you make
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your way into the actual ballroom this
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is it there's the stage it's like I'm
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stepping back in time almost as if it's
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been perfectly preserved as it was in
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the late 50s tucked away in the corner
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of course is the dressing room which
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current day has been signed the walls
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and the roof by other performers who
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have come here not only to share the
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stage but also leave their thoughts
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condolences and this is it oh my gosh
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this is that I'm standing on the stage
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there was only enough room for three
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passengers on the ill-fated flight and
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the coin cost to decide on if ritchie
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valens would have the ability to share a
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seat also happened in this room
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pretty crazy to think about someone has
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drawn mr. Buddy Holly right there
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and above it written a night to remember
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they say the view from the stage was a
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packed one a full house even many
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decades later this coat check area is
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still operational whenever they have
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concerts but I have to think back to
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that evening on how cold it was how many
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people stood right here at this counter
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paid a small fee to have their coats
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held to the end of the evening the phone
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booth also still remains aware Buddy
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Holly called his wife and Ritchie Valens
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called his manager they would have both
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sat right there and used that exact
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phone the last two phone calls they ever
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made not a lot of photographs in
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existence from the performance but this
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is one hanging in the lobby and to the
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far left playing base that's Waylon
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Jennings right there country star Waylon
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Jennings Dion the Belmonts also
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performed and because of the poor
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conditions of the tour and the
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accommodations their drummer got sick
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and Buddy Holly jumped on the drum kit
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to play dramas for their set that
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evening on that sheet of paper are the
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hands scribbled lyrics to La Bamba
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and there's Richie's bowtie and the
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wallet he had on that chore after he
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passed away his mom carried that wallet
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for 10 years on her in mourning big
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boppers necktie and clothing lapel if
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you look closely it spells his name out
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and here's his briefcase a little
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notepad that he wrote lyrics and poems
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on the set of cufflinks owned and worn
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by Buddy Holly right there in that case
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a few other artifacts on display
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including this guitar that was signed by
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all the performers that evening the
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signatures have faded that they have
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placed the actual guitar in a glass case
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on the top of the wall this helps
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signify how sporadic their tour was it
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just went all over the place it was a
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very disorganized as far as the route
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went they went from Duluth to Green Bay
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down to Clear Lake when really it was
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just like a whole conglomerate like
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nothing was organized could they did a
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lot of backtracking here's the flyer
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Monday February 2nd dancing 8 p.m. to
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midnight and the coat-check wasn't a
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dollar back then it was only it was only
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ten cents of course who could have
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guessed
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later that evening tragedy was about to
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strike for a sure while this venue was
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in danger of being demolished thankfully
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in 2011 it was placed on the National
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Registry of historical places so it will
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be here til the end of time preserving
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history because of the very cold weather
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the blizzard-like conditions the tour
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was plagued from the beginning the tour
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bus kept breaking down Peter kept going
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out causing a lot of the band members to
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become ill get sick get the flu and even
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get frostbite and their feet they
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decided that if
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with charter a plane and fly out of this
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Airport the pilot his name was Roger
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Peter said of course only four people
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total to board the plane which means
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some had to go and take the surface
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streets drive hundreds of miles in that
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freezing icy cold
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big story about Waylon Jennings who gave
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his seat up to the ill flu ridden Big
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Bopper and a kindness he let him have
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the seat on the plane not knowing what
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would happened and when Buddy Holly
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realized that his bandmate Waylon had
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given away his seat but he jested had a
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friendship - Waylon Jennings I hope that
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tour box breaks down on you and Waylon
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turned to Buddy and said I hope your
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plane crashes something that he meant as
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a joke is something he's had to live
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with all his life they only made it
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about five or so miles past the runway
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after takeoff weather conditions were so
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bad snow was so thick caused the plane
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to crash out here in this field one gets
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the sense of what it might have been
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like that next morning when visibility
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was granted due to sunlight it is serene
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a lot of solitude out here off the
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beaten path to say the least and they
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have placed the iconic glasses right
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there on those two posts
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and memory of that event not a hundred
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percent certain but I believe farther
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down the fence line way down there is
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the exact precise spot I have to walk I
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have to walk through the snow to get
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there the change of plans it's just way
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whoa it's just way too deep look how far
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down I don't feel I could walk it on
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foot this is is this a pretty can't even
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see my foot down there wedged in the
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snow
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looking back on it probably a good thing
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I did not walk out there seems the
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precise memorials people have left have
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been covered in the snowdrift right
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along that fence line is where the plane
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laid down the day the music died that's
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gonna do it for today from Iowa a very
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snowy Iowa rock and roll history I
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appreciate you guys watching I will see
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you in the next video this is I gotta
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get out of this vlog