Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper

Well, tonight is a night for rock 'n' roll! A sad anniversary kind of night, but they must have had a great concert 50 years ago tonight ... before flying away and crashing sometime after midnight.

We've been to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. We went there once for one of the big anniversaries -- I guess it was -- a few years ago. They had record tables, records for sale, dancing, various bands, including Jack Scott. I didn't actually get to see Jack Scott, because I needed to leave, but I saw his wife! And bought his CD.

But 50 years ago they had the current rock 'n' rollers there. And we've loved them (sort of) ever since. Big Bopper, I basically only know that one song, "Chantilly Lace," but I've heard his others a time or two, most of them. Ritchie Valens, he got the full movie treatment, and I have a CD of his Del-Fi stuff. "Donna" and "La Bamba" and there's some other good things on there. Buddy Holly is the biggest, and over the years we've had his records.

In the late '70s I got a boxed set of LPs from England that was supposed to be the complete works, and the record store guy said it's all you'll ever need by Buddy Holly. But that was before CDs. And so in CDs all I have are "The Buddy Holly Collection" with 50 songs, and the MCA Greatest Hits album that has 20 songs, which of course are also found on the other album.

I've had several Buddy Holly records and probably still have a few, 45 rpm records. I used to have a great promo copy of "Blue Days, Black Nights," but sold it back to the friend who sold it to me. I needed some memory for my VIC-20 (how stupid! but true).

Here's my big adventures in getting some Buddy Holly 45s. I went to this jukebox record place in Des Moines one time. They had a pile of 45s from jukeboxes in the back room. Just the usual '80s junk, as it was considered at that time. But there was another room, just a few steps this direction. And in there I found numerous good records, including some Buddy Holly ones. The lady finally came back and caught me, but she allowed me to buy some of them.

One other adventure, not really an adventure, but I was at a jukebox record place in Marshalltown, Iowa, one time. And I'm just glancing through the ordinary 45s, which they had categorized, and guess what, there was a Buddy Holly record, old Coral, filed with "The Hollies." Ha ha, naturally I bought it. I got some other really good things that day, but that was the one that related to Buddy Holly.

Unfortunately, over the years I needed money, and ended up selling most of these to a guy for around $12 apiece.

I was around when Buddy Holly was alive, but just a kid. So, even though I was already an Elvis fan at that time, since my mother was, I have no memories of Buddy Holly. And I don't recall ever seeing any of his records while growing up. So she must not have had any.

So the day Buddy Holly died ... at the time no one mentioned it to me.

P.S. Also killed in the crash was the pilot, Roger Peterson.