February 3rd marked 61 years since a plane crash in Iowa took the lives of music's Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson.
The three were tragically killed in the 1959 Clear Lake crash after playing a sellout show to 1,000 fans at The Surf Ballroom.
Their careers had only lasted, at max, three years before their deaths; Holly was already a superstar, Valens had two smash hits at only 17 and The Big Bopper just reached top of the charts with "Chantilly Lace". Don McLean's "The Day The Music Died" song refers to the crash.