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| The original poster advertising the event |
January 31 marks the
59th anniversary of three days before "the day the music
died" when Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a
plane crash in Iowa. Three days prior to their death–January 31,
1959–these pop stars of the fifties performed at the Duluth Armory in a
memorable appearance from my youth. A small private plane carrying these
performers crashed following their final performance in Clear Lake
Iowa, claiming their lives. The plane was heading to Fargo, North
Dakota. As
Don McLean wrote in his classic music parable, American Pie, the plane crash resulted in
"the day the music died."
I,
Bob Dylan and other area youths packed the Duluth Armory on January
31, 1959 to take in the performances of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and
J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson, three of Rock and Roll’s most promising
musicians of that era. “The Winter Dance Party Tour” began on January
23, 1959 with performances scheduled for 24 cities. The Duluth
appearance took place three days before the tour tragically ended.
My friend,
Lew Latto, was the producer and MC of the Armory show that
also included Dion and the Belmonts. Lew was a precocious teen who
became a popular disc jockey as a youth and continued on with a
successful career in radio until his death in 2011.
Ed Newman, blogger on Ennyman's Territory, interviewed me about that evening. Read it
HERE.
This year the
Historic Duluth Armory is again paying tribute to the Winter Dance Party. Tickets may be purchased
HERE. For more about the revitalization of the
Historic Duluth Armory, follow that link.
You can find more photos and accounts of the original Duluth Dance Party Tour on the
News Tribune Attic on January 31, 2014.
