Richie Valens was 18. The Big Bopper, J.P.Richardson, was 29, & the pilot of the plane was only 21.Originally Posted by Lorie D.
One of the local TV stations had a story about it the other night. They said Buddy Holly was only 22 years old when he was killed, but didn't mention the ages of the other young men.
That makes it all the more tragic.Originally Posted by laureen227
Richie Valens was 18. The Big Bopper, J.P.Richardson, was 29, & the pilot of the plane was only 21.
I believe that Richie Valens won his seat on the flight by flipping a coin with another backup musician.Waylon Jennings gave his seat up to Richardson, who was running a fever and had trouble fitting his stocky frame comfortably into the bus seats.
When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said, "Well, I hope your old bus freezes up." Jennings responded, "Well, I hope your plane crashes." This friendly banter of friends would haunt Jennings for years.
The other musician was Tommy Allsup. He and my boss at a little oil company had a little nightclub in the Adam Hat building in Deep Ellum in Dallas about 1985 or so. The sign on the door was a coin, symbolic of that coin flip.Originally Posted by libby74
Did you know that Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on that plane? (he was a back-up musician for Buddy Holly at that time) I found this tidbit online---
I believe that Richie Valens won his seat on the flight by flipping a coin with another backup musician.
Waylon Jennings and Mr. Allsup must have suffered 'survivor's guilt' for years. I don't how you'd ever come to grips with something like that.The other musician was Tommy Allsup. He and my boss at a little oil company had a little nightclub in the Adam Hat building in Deep Ellum in Dallas about 1985 or so. The sign on the door was a coin, symbolic of that coin flip.
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