La Bamba (film) triggered by a recurring dream resulting from a midair collision between two planes over Ritchie's school which killed his best friend. Ritchie initially manages to avoid flying to his concerts and appearances, but has to conquer his fear when invited to perform "Donna" on "American Bandstand". Ritchie's record producer and manager, Bob Keane, helps him by giving him a little vodka to calm his nerves during the flight to Philadelphia. As Ritchie becomes more famous, his responsibilities change, and he eventually joins the ill-fated Winter Dance Party tour with Buddy Holly and "The Big Bopper" after "La Bamba" and "Donna"
Dion and the Belmonts February 3rd 1959, the plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, with Holly, Valens, The Big Bopper, and the pilot, Roger Peterson, all being killed. Bobby Vee, then an unknown artist, performed in Holly’s place at the very next concert. Later, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were hired to finish the tour in place of the three deceased headliners. As of January 11, 2017 with the death of Holly's tour guitarist Tommy Allsup, Dion is the lone surviving member of the original Winter Dance Party lineup (The lone surviving Belmont, Angelo D'Aleo, was not on the tour as he was