The Day the Music Died

Date: February 3, 1959 • Location: Clear Lake, United States

Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.

Charles Hardin Holley, known professionally by his stage name Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, lead guitarist and co-founder of the Crickets, who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his two siblings.