Customer Reviews

The Day The Music Died: The Last Tour Of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens (Omnibus Press)

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Author Larry Lehmer has provided readers with a very detailed story of the events that led up to the deaths of early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson. Individual chapters are provided on each individual and a thorough description of the various cities the rock stars visited during the Winter Dance Party in the Upper Midwest beginning in January of 1959. Due to inadequate bus transportation with little or no heat, the three singers decided to charter an airplane from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo, North Dakota, for their next performance in Moorhead, Minnesota, to arrive early and get some needed rest. The crash of the airplane was due to poor flying conditions and the inadequate skills of the pilot in flying by instruments. The author explores other theories such as a fight on the plane or, incredibly, Buddy Holly shooting the pilot. Author Lehmer also provides a great deal of information on the airplane that was used and what has become of the arenas the singers used for their performances in each of the visited cities. Numerous photos of the singers during this Winter Dance Tour and of the crash site are also provided. Some readers may feel they are being told more than they want to know about this subject, but the author has done an incredible job in covering this story of this incident and what rock and roll was like during the late 1950's.

Lehmer's book is downright exhaustive in the coverage of the fateful Feb. 3 1959 plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and Richardson.

I appreciated the detail and content of this book a lot. Being from Iowa, I have been interested in the Winter Dance party, and accounts of the crash for a very long time. (In fact, I just visited the Surf Ballroom and Mason City Airport while returning from a recent weekend vacation.)

Lehmer's book is very well-balanced, with chapters devoted to each of the three headliners. And it also has detailed plane crash info as well as analysis of the official CAB report.

In my opinion, easily the best book on "The Day The Music Died".

After being out of print for many years, it's nice to see this book available again. Meticulously researched, with a lot of factual asides that make it genuinely interesting to read even for people who are already "in the know". Lots of interesting details, anecdotes, and coincidences - a few of which are downright eerie.

But as I read this book, I kept asking basic questions about the New York tour "organizers". The people who actually put the Winter Dance Party together only make vague, shadowy appearances in this book. Only one name is mentioned, to my recollection. In a book this detailed, I thought it was odd that there were no direct interviews with anybody who either worked on the tour or knew of people who did.

We know about the converted school buses with poor heating. What is never mentioned is why such crappy buses were leased for a tour of nationally known musical acts in the first place. Nor do we gain any insight into why obvious problems were never addressed on the tour when they arose. And what was with that crazy zig-zagging approach to visiting the cities and towns of the upper midwest? I know we're supposed to assume that the tour operators were working on the cheap, but is that the whole story? Because it seems to me that going 400 miles out of your way to stop at one city only to do a U-turn and then drive 300 miles in the opposite direction the very next day would rack up many unnecessary expenditures. So if money wasn't the only issue, what was? Mr. Lehmer never really broaches the subject; he seems to dance around it. We do learn about what brand of aspirin the Big Bopper carried around in his briefcase, however.

This is no small point; it seems to me that the tour operation itself is at the epicenter of this entire story. One could reasonably make the argument that if the tour were well organized and equipped from the get-go, the tragedy of February 3rd might well have been avoided. I wonder if any of the tour operators felt any sense of remorse over this. We'll never know.

Those questions notwithstanding, I enjoyed Mr. Lehmer's book. It's clear that he put a lot of hard work into this, and "The Day The Music Died" is a very interesting account of the Winter Dance Party tour and its aftermath. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest.

PS - As this book was first published in 1994, the "Where Are They Now?" chapter is seriously outdated. I don't fault the author for this of course, but an updated edition of this book might be worthwhile at some point.

Larry Lehmer has written a very well researched and thoroughly detailed book. The last time that I read a book that paid this close of attention to detail was "Truman" by David McCullough. Lehmer takes the time to give a biography of each star, as well as the story of their often forgotten pilot, Roger Peterson. In addition, Lehmer explores each theory of how the doomed aircraft may have gone down, remote as some of those possibilities may be. Lehmer's interviews with people who were actually on the Winter Dance Party tour with the three stars gives the reader a first-hand experience that would not have been possible with book research alone. He is able to portray the human aspect of the tragedy, as opposed to simply a timeline account. Never a dull moment, Lehmer's writing makes this book a joy to read. He doesn't leave a single thing out, providing the most thorough account of the Winter Dance Party tour, and, ultimately, the plane crash, to date.

The initial first run of this great book was not around very long and people have been begging since for a reprint and here it is! This one is hard to put down, it is intriguing, informative and FACTUAL, which most Buddy book are not (avoid the Amburn book at all costs). What is particularily nice is that it features a great deal of updated info about the last tour & crash, info about Roger Peterson, and a good deal about Ritchie & The Bopper that usually doesn't get included. Lehmer talks to people that were at the shows, helped with the Tour, etc. No wild theories here, just the facts. Top notch in every regard. You see any bad reviews here? 'Nuff said!

Being from Iowa, I learned about Buddy Holly at a young age...not because of his music, but because he died here (morbid, yet true). But as time went on and I bought Buddy Holly tapes and CD's, I became a big fan. This book is great because it not only tells of the careers of those involved in the Winter Party Tour, but also tells details leading up the crash (including stops in many small towns along the way). It was quite informative.

Larry Lehmer has crafted one of the better journalistic books about a historical rock 'n' roll event. He brings a newspaperman's observations and senses to the project, which connects all the dots in the tragic last tour for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. "The Day the Music Died" is not only entertaining -- somber and occasionally macabre in appropriate moments, and humorous elsewhere -- but it describes the days and weeks leading up to the tragic crash in Clear Lake through the eyes of people who were there. In each case, he paints a vivid portrait of a fallen star, making their stories all the more tragic. To read this book is to understand how American rock 'n' roll evolved from its early, innocent roots toward the fragmented, even chaotic market it encompasses today. I highyl recommend this book.

This is a great book. I have always been interested in "The day the music died" I had read several books and magazine articles about Buddy Holly's life but there was little in the way of the actual Winter Dance Party or the other musicians. I purchased this book and was shocked at how well and detailed the accounts of the musicians lives and the aftermath of the plane crash was. Larry Lehmer did an excelent job and should be commended on telling the truth not just what Buddy Holly's widow wanted or others who are wanting to cover the truth about what life was really like for all those involved. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in rock and roll, Buddy Holly or just 50's style music.

The Day the Music Died is quite frankly, to date, the most touching, comprehensive, detailed and complete account of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party tour that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P.(The Big Bopper) Richardson embarked on in January 1959, which resulted in the well known plane crash that took their lives, as well as that of the young pilot, Roger Peterson. It tells the story of each of the singers--wildly popular Buddy Holly, age 22, young Richie Valens, who was touring with his chart topping hit, Oh, Donna, and the Big Bopper, of Chantilly Lace fame. The Winter Dance Party tour became a grueling road trip from hell, as the singers were booked on ancient (even for 1959!) buses that broke down, had no heat, and allowed for little or no rest in-between gigs. Author Larry Lehmer has done an outstanding job of recounting the trip with a comprehensive view of the individuals involved. It gives an excellent feel for the personalities and the events involved, particularly for someone like me who was only a couple of months old at the time of the crash. There are several excellent bios of Holly and Valens out there, and they also do a good job in recounting the entire lives; The Day the Music Died concentrates on the Winter Dance Party and the crash and discusses the various theories involved as to what caused it.

The author has done an amazing job of capturing the essence of the persons involved, as well as the sequence of events leading up to The Day the Music Died.

Excellent reading. Interesting twist with wild theories after the crash. The theories were hard to believe after reading the stories about three very young men trying to make a living on the road. The reality of the severe upper midwest winters creates a whole batch of travel woes. Only a promoter from a milder climate would have mapped out the treacherous Winter Dance Party tour. The crisscrossing, zigzagging itinerary on sub-par busses...makes me shiver just to think about it. I read the book because I am a great Bobby Vee fan. I couldn't put the book down!!!!!