Chicano rock The Sir Douglas Quintet, Thee Midniters, Los Lobos, Malo, War, Tierra, and El Chicano all have made music that is heavily based on 1950s R&B, even when general trends moved away from the original sound of rock as time went by. Chicano rock 'n' roll star Ritchie Valens, was a Mexican-American singer and songwriter influential in the Chicano rock movement. He recorded numerous hits during his short career, most notably the 1958 hit "La Bamba." Valens died at age 17 in a plane crash with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper on February 3, 1959. The tragedy was
Donna (Ritchie Valens song) Donna (Ritchie Valens song) "Donna" is a song written by Ritchie Valens, featuring the 50s progression. The song was released in 1958 on Del-Fi Records. It was Valens' highest-charting single reaching No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart the following year. (Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price was at number one.) It was written as a tribute to his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig. The song was recorded on December 16, 1958, at the Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. Bob Keene is listed as having been the leader of the session, which included Earl Palmer on drums; Buddy Clark