Although said in jest, those words would haunt Waylon Jennings for the rest of his life.
Jennings, along with Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens had just finished a concert in Clear Lake, Iowa and were discussing travel arrangements to their next venue in Minnesota the following day, February 3, 1959.The entourage had been traveling in the 'Winter Dance Tour' by bus previously, but ongoing issues with breakdowns in the extreme cold prompted Holly to charter a plane instead to help insure that at least part of the group would get to the next concert on time.
Late in the evening February 2nd, Jennings and Holly joked about travel arrangements, making the decision to swap spots- instead of riding the bus, Holly would take Jenning's place on the airplane. Jokingly, Holly told him "I hope your old bus breaks down!". Jennings shot back "I hope your ol' airplane crashes!".
That would be the last exchange the two would ever have.
Buddy Holly, Richardson, Valens and pilot Roger Peterson climbed aboard a single engine Beechcraft Bonanza and took off in less-than-favorable conditions. Ironically, Peterson was not instrument qualified, meaning flying in low visibility conditions is prohibited.
Around 1:00 am, only minutes after take off, the four seater aircraft lay mangled in a field with all aboard dead. The wreckage wasn't found until almost 8 hours later.
Sadly, Holly's wife learned of his death as it was announced on television and consequently miscarried a child she was carrying. His mother heard it on the radio.
In the days to follow, the world mourned as three young musicians with bright futures were gone in a heartbeat.
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| Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J.P. Richardson |
American Pie, a song penned by Don McLean pays tribute to the musicians killed when he was 13 years old. He learned of the news as he was folding newspapers for his paper route on the morning of February 4, 1959- hence the line "February made me shiver/with every paper I'd deliver".
