Ritchie Valens

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Close up of Ritchie Valens' tombstone
Ritchie Valens' signature

Ritchie Valens (* 13. May 1941 as Richard Steven Valenzuela in Pacoima , Los Angeles , † 3. February 1959 at Mason City, Iowa ) was an American rock 'n' roll - musicians with Mexican roots. He and his fellow musicians Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash. The day of the plane crash has come to be known as The Day the Music Died ("The day the music died").

Origin and career

Valens came from a poor background and earned his living (together with his mother) as a harvest worker ( seasonal work ). His half-brother, Robert "Bob" Morales, was imprisoned for a long time and became jealous of him and an alcoholic, largely due to Valen's success.

Some of the most famous hits in Ritchie Valens' short career include Come On, Let's Go , Donna and La Bamba . In 1987 his life was filmed under the title La Bamba , with Lou Diamond Phillips in the lead role . In the film, among other things, Valen's mother played a supporting role. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .

With La Bamba (1958) at number 354, Valens has the only non-English-language song in the list of the 500 best songs of all time by the US magazine Rolling Stone from 2010.

Death in plane crash

Memorial at the crash site at Mason City

At the beginning of 1959, the only 17-year-old Ritchie Valens was on tour with other artists . During this tour, the heating in the tour bus failed several times, until it finally stopped working. Valens caught a cold the night before his last concert, so he asked Buddy Holly's guitarist Tommy Allsup to let him sit on the plane. Allsup let a coin toss be decided. Valens won and climbed aboard the plane despite suffering from a fear of flying. After the concert that evening in Clear Lake , Iowa , the plane crashed on February 3, just minutes after takeoff, due to a snow storm. With Valens, his tour colleagues Buddy Holly , The Big Bopper (JP Richardson) and pilot Roger Peterson died. Valen's family found out about the plane crash on the radio. He was buried in his hometown three days after the accident. Valens wanted to marry his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig (to which the song Donna is dedicated).

literature

  • Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 709f, ISBN 0-312-02573-4
  • Michael Heatley: The Girl in the Song: The Real Stories Behind 50 Classic Pop Songs. Harpercollins, UK, 2010. 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-907554-03-2 . English: The girl from the song ... and the story behind it. Translated by Madeleine Lampe and Thorsten Wortmann. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag, Berlin, 248 pages, ISBN 978-3-89602-579-1 (about Donna )

Discography

Albums

  • 1959: Ritchie Valens
  • 1959: Ritchie
  • 1960: In Concert at Pacoima Jr. High
  • 1987: La Bamba

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US R&B R&B
1987 The Best of Ritchie Valens - US100 (10 weeks)
US 		-
First published: August 1987

More compilations

  • 1963: Ritchie Valens & Jerry Kole ( split album , with Jerry Kole)
  • 1963: The Original La Bamba
  • 1963: Memorial Album: His Greatest Hits
  • 1963: The Original Ritchie Valens
  • 1964: La Bamba: His Greatest Hits Vol # 2
  • 1967: I Remember: His Greatest Hits
  • 1970: Ritchie Valens
  • 1976: The Story of Rock and Roll (DE only; reissue of Memorial Album , 1963)
  • 1981: I Remember Ritchie Valens: His Greatest Hits (DE only; reissue of Memorial Album , 1963)
  • 1981: The History of Ritchie Valens (box with 3 LPs)
  • 1981: The Best of Ritchie Valens
  • 1987: Greatest Hits
  • 1987: La Bamba: The Original Ritchie Valens Story
  • 1987: La Bamba '87 and Other Great Rock n 'Roll Classics
  • 1990: Hits and Other Favorites
  • 1992: The Best of Ritchie Valens
  • 1993: The Ritchie Valens Story
  • 1995: Rockin 'All Night: The Very Best of Ritchie Valens
  • 1995: The Very Best of ...
  • 1998: Come On, Let's Go! (Box with 3 CDs)
  • 2003: Greatest Hits
  • 2004: La Bamba and Other Hits
  • 2011: La Bamba: The Definitive Collection (2 CDs)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US R&B R&B
1958 Come On, Let's Go
Ritchie Valens 		- US42 (13 weeks)
US 		R&B27 (1 week)
R&B
First published: August 1958
Donna
Ritchie Valens 		UK29 (1 week)
UK 		US2 (23 weeks)
US 		R&B11 (10 weeks)
R&B
First published: November 1958
# 158 of Songs of the Century ( RIAA , List 2001)
1959 La Bamba
Ritchie Valens 		UK49 (4 weeks)
UK 		US22 (15 weeks)
US 		-
B-side of Donna
number 158 of the Songs of the Century ( RIAA , 2001 list),
number 354 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2010 list),
entered the UK chart in August 1987
That's My Little Suzie
Ritchie Valens 		- US55 (8 weeks)
US 		-
First published: March 1959
Little Girl
Ritchie 		- US92 (2 weeks)
US 		-
First published: May 1959
B-side of We Belong Together

More singles

  • 1959: Fast Freight (released January)
  • 1959: We Belong Together (release: May)
  • 1959: Stay Beside Me (release: October)
  • 1960: Paddiwack Song (release: February)
  • 1987: La Bamba '87 (feat.Gazpacho)

swell

  1. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ritchie Valens in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  2. ↑ a b RS500 Songs (List 2010)
  3. ↑ a b Chart sources: UK Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
  6. ↑ a b Songs of the Century, RIAA (List 2001)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Valens, Ritchie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Valenzuela, Richard Steven (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rock 'n' roll musician
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH los Angeles
DATE OF DEATH 3rd February 1959
Place of death Clear Lake, Iowa