Ritchie Valens (real name Richard Valenzuela) was born in California on 13 May 1941.
As a youngster he sang and played the guitar at school and in 1958 he signed to Del-Fi records in Hollywood and had his first US hit with the single Come On Let’s Go, which was a UK hit for Tommy Steele.
He achieved huge success with the follow-up singles Donna – which he had written for his high school sweetheart, Donna Ludwig – and La Bamba, and Valens seemed set to become one of the biggest singers in the world.
Tragically, he was killed in the same plane crash which claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper on 3 February 1959. The Beechcraft Bonanza plane smashed into a cornfield at Ames, Iowa, during a blizzard, killing its distinguished passengers instantly.
Valens was still only 17 years old. He had won his seat in a coin-toss with Holly’s guitarist Tommy Allsup, who lived until January 2017 when he passed away at the age of 85 after complications from hernia surgery.
Related Posts
Carl Perkins Born in Lake County, Tennessee, on 9 April 1932, Carl Perkins began playing country music with his brothers Jay and Clayton…
Champs, The The Champs evolved from a group of Texan session musicians hired by Gene Autry for his fledgeling Challenge Records label…
Teddy Bears, The In summer 1958, Phillip Harvey Spector (who had moved from New York to LA a few years earlier) and three of his…
Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell was born Albert Cernik in 1927 and recorded for King Records as Al Grant. When he signed with…
Buddy Holly (& The Crickets) Born Charles Hardin Holley on 7 September 1936, Buddy (as he was nicknamed from an early age by his family)…
Four Preps, The The Four Preps met at Hollywood High School. Their first chart single was Dreamy Eyes, just prior to Christmas of 1956.…
Ron Dante Even if you don't know Ron Dante by name, you know his voice: a smooth, youthful, pop-friendly sound that can…
Ral Donner Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner was born in Norwood Park, Chicago and sang in church as a child. He sang in…
