On Wednesday, January 28, 1959, the ill-fated “Winter Dance Party” came to the Prom Ballroom in St. Paul.  The show was emcee’ed by WDGY DJ Bill Diehl. At the Prom was a crowd of 2,000 people, including a lot of screaming girls.

Performers on the tour included:

Buddy Holly, nee Charles Hardin Holley.  Buddy was performing without the Crickets; accompanying him were Waylon Jennings on bass and studio musician Tommy Alsup on guitar.

 

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The Big Bopper, nee J.P. Richardson

 

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Ritchie Valens, nee Richard Valenzuela

 

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Dion (DiMucci)

 

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Frankie Sardo, nee Frank Sardo Avianca.  Frankie was on the tour on the strength of a regional hit record called “Fake Out.”  Not this region.  The posters listed his song “Take Out,” which indicates how minor this hit was.  Sardo also sang the flip side of his record, an Elvis impersonation called “Classroom.”

 

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THE ROUTE OF THE TOUR

The Winter Dance Party was no party at all.  It was a grueling series of one-nighters that were reached on a bus with failing heat in the coldest months of winter.  The route criss-crossed the area, making the journey more onerous than would seem necessary.  In 2013, Claire Mogren made a list of shows on the Winter Dance Party Itinerary; the information below is from her list and other information on the Internet.

• January 23:  Milwaukee:  George Devine’s Million Dollar Ballroom
• January 24:  Kenosha, Wis.:  Eagles Ballroom (with Debbie Stevens)
• January 25:  Mankato, Minn.:  Kato Ballroom.  Bill Diehl was the emcee.

 

• January 26:  Eau Claire, Wis.:  Fournier’s Ballroom
• January 27:  Montevideo, Minn.:  Fiesta Ballroom

 

• January 28:  St. Paul:  The Prom Ballroom.  Local band the Del-Ricos, which included Darwin Eckholm (aka Donald K. Martin), opened the show.

 

• January 29:  Davenport, Iowa:  Capitol Theater
• January 30:  Fort Dodge, Iowa:  Laramar Ballroom

• January 31:  Duluth Armory

 

 

• February 1:  Appleton, Wis.:  Cinderella Ballroom (Cancelled due to bus trouble)

 

• February 1:  Green Bay, Wis.:  Riverside Ballroom

• February 2:  Clear Lake, Iowa:  Surf Ballroom

 

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THE CRASH

After the show in the Clear Lake, Holly was fed up and decided to hire a small plane to get himself and his band to the next venue, which was a long drive in a cold bus to Moorhead.  Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to the Bopper, who had the flu, and Tommy Allsup gave up his seat to Valens on a coin toss.

The plane took off at 12:55 am on February 3, with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson and the three musicians.  Within five minutes it had crashed into a cornfield; all aboard died instantly.  The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that the probable cause of the accident was “the pilot’s unwise decision to embark on a flight” that required him to be able to fly on instruments, which he could not do.  In addition, the plane had an attitude gyroscope that was different from what he was used to, making him believe he was climbing when he was actually descending – nose down at 170 miles per hour.  In addition, Peterson was provided with “seriously inadequate” weather information, which “failed to even mention adverse flying conditions which should have been highlighted.”  (Wikipedia)

The rest of the performers on bus didn’t find out about the accident until they arrived at the hotel and they saw the news on TV.

Grief struck the country; on the day the musicians died, Bill Diehl did a three-hour show on WDGY playing nothing but songs by the three young stars.

Incredibly, the death of the three stars did  not stop the tour.  The tour continued with other stars filling in.  Bobby Vee, Jimmy Clanton, and Fabian starred in at least one show each, and Frankie Avalon finished the tour.

• February 3:  Moorhead, Minn. Armory (with Bobby Vee)

 

• February 4:  Sioux City, Iowa
• February 5:  Des Moines:  Val Air Ballroom
• February 6:  Cedar Rapids, Iowa:  Danceland Ballroom
• February 7:  Spring Valley, Ill.:  Les Buzz Ballroom
• February 8:  Chicago:  Aragon Ballroom
• February 9:  Waterloo, Iowa:  Hippodrome
• February 10:  Dubuque, Iowa:  Melody Hill
• February 11:  Louisville:  Memorial Auditorium
• February 12:  Coshocton, Ohio:  Coshocton Armory (with Frankie Avalon, Debbie Stevens)
• February 13:  Youngstown, Ohio:  Memorial Auditorium
• February 14:  Peoria, Ill. Armory
• February 15:  Springfield, Ill. State Armory

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A good book on this tragic event is The Day the Music Died:  The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, by Larry Lehmer.