What really happened the day the music died.

Buddy Holly had a colossal influence on at least two geniuses of the 20th century - Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. А Don McLean was so fascinated by the man that he even wrote his famous "American Pie" ("American Pie."). The song is about that unfortunate day when rising stars Holly, Richie Valens and Big Bopper. perished... All three were on their way to Olympus! They were travelling through the Upper Midwest as part of a tour "Winter Dance Party."But unfortunately for them, they made the fateful decision to skip the bus journey to their next destination and instead board an aeroplane. As a result, the "winged bird" crashed into a snow-covered field, sending the musicians on their final journey....

The conditions on the tour bus were horrible

"Winter Dance Party" has begun 23 January 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their journey through Upper Midwest was not easy, zigzagging.

"It was like throwing darts at a map," recalled historian Bill Griggs.

But what made it even more stressful was the renovated school buswhich was unsuitable even for the schoolchildren themselves. It was unheated, and struggled to navigate the icy Wisconsin roads. From the guitarist's memoirs Tommy Olsapa:

"We were travelling down this slope, it was snowing very heavily and the bus started moving slower and slower, the lights were getting dimmer and dimmer and suddenly the bus stopped... The driver said: "We can't move from the spot... We are frozen".

The musicians were trying to keep warm under blankets, burning newspapers in the aisles of the bus, drinking shots and telling each other stories. It was so cold that the drummer Carl Bunch frostbite on his feet! And this. saved his life.

Holly wanted to do some laundry

For more than a week, the comrades travelled the Midwest, overcoming problem after problem, tired and hardened... Lack of clean clothes wasn't helping matters. One of the reasons Holly suggested skip a bus journey and instead travelling on a aeroplaneThe reason he wanted to do the laundry was that he wanted to wash his clothes. He thought that arriving in North Dakota early would give the musicians time to do their laundry and get a good night's rest before taking the stage. The other members of the tour agreed, and as a result, took all of the dirty clothes on board when we left the airport.

Blizzard

2 February 1959 The musicians played two shows during the year, the last of which ended around midnight. Fans followed Holly, Valensom и Bopper to the airport and waved to their idols as they boarded the plane. They didn't know then that they would never see them again..... Beechcraft Bonanza took off about 00:30 3 February. There was snow in the air... Soon it started storm.

According to a Civil Aviation Board report, the aircraft "took off southwards in a normal manner" before reaching an altitude of around 800 feet. and turned northwest. After flying about five miles, witnesses at the airport saw the aircraft's tail light slowly descend before disappearing completely. An aerial search the next morning found the plane in a snow-covered farm field. Or rather, its debris.

Richie Valens was on the plane by accident.

Dion from Dion and the Belmonts turned down the ticket, and Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to Bopper, who was ill with the flu at the time. However, the reason why Allsup on the bus instead of on board the plane was completely accidental! In fact, he should have travelled instead of Wałęsabut the flip of a coin has determined the fate of several people...

"I told him no all night, but Valens insisted he wanted to go on the plane. So I took out a 50-cent coin, flipped it, and an eagle fell out..."

With regard to the already mentioned Jenningshe, as part of Holly's group, had priority seating on the plane. And although he was eager to take a break from the infernal bus, he still conceded his place to Bopper because he was sick. Without realising it, he had let go creepy jokewhich turned out to be a divination:

"Holly started teasing me, saying, 'I hope your bloody bus freezes up again.'" And then I said to him, "Well, I hope your bloody plane crashes." Christ, for years I thought it was my fault..."

In fact, Valens was afraid to fly

Despite his desire to get on the plane, Valens is horrified dreaded to fly! As a child, he was terrified by a plane crash in which two aeroplanes collided in mid-air, causing parts of the vehicles to fall on his secondary school. Three students lost their lives... Nevertheless, the musician realised that touring "Winter Dance Party." could bring him face to face with the wildest fear. And he was ready for it. He attended a church service with a friend before going on tour. Afterwards, his close friend Gail Smith remembered:

"I asked him, "What are you going to do if the plane goes down?" He replied, "I'll land on my guitar..."

By the way, "Winter Dance Party" has become first and last The major tour by Wałęsa, who at the time of his death was just 17 years old.

Neither Buddy Holly nor the Big Bopper was interested in the tour itself

After Holly first made a name for himself as a warm-up act at the Elvis Presley in 1955 and then signed to the label, he formed the Crickets. Together they recorded seven Top 40 singles between 1957 and 1958, including "That'll Be the Day"and then broke up. Holly decided to pursue a solo career, but financial problems due to the breakup made him bankrupt. When the organisers "Winter Dance Party." asked him to lead the tour, Holly didn't want to accept. It would have meant leaving his pregnant wife at home and travelling furiously around the Midwest during the cold and harsh winter months. But because of financial difficulties and he had to agree.

Big Bopper wasn't interested in driving around the wintry Midwest either. But at the same time, it was a tempting offer. At that point, he had only one hit, "Chantilly Lace"and the tour was an opportunity to reach new fans.

Like Holly, he, too, left home pregnant wife.

Trials: was the pilot really at fault?

According to a report by the Civil Aviation Board, the pilot Roger Peterson had flown 711 hours. And since the aircraft has not been detected engine or other mechanics malfunctioned and the chassis was still in the raised position, officials blamed the incident on the absence Peterson's experience flying in snowy weather. They also found no evidence that anyone alerted Peterson to the two sudden reports issued by the U.S. Weather Bureau that morning regarding an impending blizzard that would significantly reduce visibility.

It has been suggested that The 21-year-old the guy could have become entangled in the aircraft's gyroscope, which was working in the opposite direction of the other air vehicles he was piloting. That means that Peterson may have thought he was climbing, but the in fact drove the plane towards the ground...

"That's how insignificant this music was to the population that day..."

Holly was a major influence on the history of rock 'n' roll, and many artists - from the Beatles to Bob Dylan - called him an idol. For the future performer. Don McLeanAs a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy at the time, Holly's passing changed his life completely... He recalled:

"I remember I was delivering newspapers that day, and I saw this story. And I was in absolute shock! I was devastated because Holly was everything to me... He was my idol. But what shocked me the most was that the paper didn't even mention his name! The headline said, "Three rock 'n' rollers killed in plane crash." That's how insignificant this music was to the population that day..."

Years later. Maclean's expressed his sadness in music, writing one of his biggest hits. "American Pie.". And while the song includes references to many events of the 1960s, it was inspired specifically by "the day the music died." And yes: it was McLean who gave this tragedy the kind of titlewhich, subsequently, went down in history...