1950s in music deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a tragic plane crash in 1959 and the departure of Elvis for the army as causes. On the other side of the spectrum, R&B-influenced acts like The Crows, The Penguins, The El Dorados and The Turbans all scored major hits, and groups like The Platters, with songs including "The Great Pretender" (1955), and The Coasters with humorous songs like "Yakety Yak" (1958), ranked among the most successful rock and roll acts of the period. Rock and roll has also been seen as leading to a number of distinct subgenres,
The Best of Ritchie Valens The Best of Ritchie Valens The Best of Ritchie Valens is a greatest hits package by Ritchie Valens. In 1981, Rhino Records began issuing a number of compilations from Bob Keane's Del-Fi Records catalog. This compilation was a follow-up to the first release "History of Ritchie Valens", a deluxe box set of Valens' original three Del-Fi albums. Six years later, with the success of the Ritchie Valens bio movie "La Bamba", along with Los Lobos' chart-topping version of the movie title track, the soundtrack album (which also peaked at #1), and even Los Lobos' version of "Come On, Let's Go"