Carl Bunch acts on the tour, including Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. When Bunch had to be left behind in Wisconsin, hospitalized for frostbite he experienced after the tour bus heater failed, Holly and Valens took turns in the drum chair playing behind the various acts. On February 3, 1959, Holly, Valens, and Richardson were killed in a plane crash en route to the next tour stop. Bunch rejoined the tour on February 5, in Sioux City, Iowa. Ronnie Smith, Jimmy Clanton and Fabian were also recruited to help fill out the playbill. The tour ended on February 15,
Buddy Holly released his album "Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s", paying tribute to the new wave of singer-songwriters in the Village during that pivotal, post-Holly era. The album opens with Barone's version of "Learning the Game", one of the final songs written and recorded by Holly at his home in Greenwich Village, a week before his death. Holly's life story inspired a Hollywood biographical film, "The Buddy Holly Story" (1978); its lead actor Gary Busey received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Holly. The film was widely criticized by the rock press,