Mason City, Iowa city of Mason City, it does serve other communities in the Mason City micropolitan statistical area. The Iowa Northern has facilities in Manly, Iowa. The city also has a municipal airport, Mason City Municipal Airport, (MCW) with commercial service by Air Choice One. It is the airport from which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper took off on the night of February 2, 1959, after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake, Iowa, only to crash their plane in a historic event later referred to as the Day the Music Died. Mason City, Iowa, and
Ritchie Valens Memorial Album Ritchie Valens Memorial Album Ritchie Valens Memorial Album is the first greatest hits compilation by Ritchie Valens, featuring his first three charted hits plus tracks from the previous three albums. The original album was issued with a black album cover and the same photo of Valens from his second album "Ritchie". A few months later, the album was retitled "Ritchie Valens, His Greatest Hits" and repackaged with a white album cover and a photo of Ritchie taken from his Del-Fi EP "Ritchie Valens Sings" (DFEP-1111). Both issues include the same back cover and album contents. All tracks composed by Ritchie