Anniversary: The Day the Music Died

Today marks the anniversary of "The Day the Music Died," when a plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, crashed on the way from Mason City to Moorehead, Minnesota.  In one flash three singers who were poised to define a musical generation were a memory.

My first introduction to this historical event was through Don McLean, and my mother explaining that many, many years ago, there was a terrible accident.  I don't remember how I felt at the time.  I mean, to a six-year-old, 1959 was an unfathomable year to comprehend.  I didn't even know, at that point, if I had ever heard the music of these three young men.  But as I grew, and I musically branched out, I came back to the oldies station my godmother listened to religiously, and mixed among the Motown and early rock, I realized that Holly, Valens, and The Big Bopper, had been a pretty big part of my own childhood, time traveling from the 50s to the 80s... and without the aid of a flux capacitor, no less.

I've often wondered if we'd still hear their songs today if such a tragedy hadn't happened.  I know that sounds awful, but would Buddy Holly's music stand the test of time?  Would "La Bamba" still get as much radio play if it's singer hadn't lost a coin toss, and been resurrected in a Lou Diamond Phillips movie? I'm not, in any way, trying to be disrespectful.  I love their music.  "Peggy Sue" comes on my Pandora station while I'm cleaning my condo, and I'm dancing as I dust.  But I wonder if that song would have as much longevity if Holly had been able to record several successive albums.  Would "That'll Be the Day" be remembered as a quirky song from a fledgling artist who ended up turning the music world on it's ear after his fifth psychedelic album went gold?  Would The Big Bopper have gone on to host a late-night music variety hour and introduced the world to musical acts that sited him as their greatest inspiration?  Would Ritchie Valens have married Donna?

I suppose the "would haves" are what make them legend; the not-knowing what could have been.  Maybe Holly's successive albums would have tanked, and his boy-next-door demeanor would have been scoffed at as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Floyd moved in.  Maybe The Big Bopper would have never had another successful song and backed away from music to work for the family business.  Maybe Ritchie Valens would have married Donna's sister.

It's always sad when the young are taken.  It's even harder to wrap your mind around three taken at once.  Today, take a listen.  Remember them.  Whatever "would have" come to pass is moot.  We're left with some great music, and we'll always be thankful.