Retroactive nomenclature the name that the land later comes to be known as: Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians are two examples. "The Day the Music Died" refers to the plane crash that took the lives of rock-and-roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in 1959, but was not used popularly until 1971 when singer-songwriter Don McLean coined it in "American Pie". Retroactive nomenclature Retroactive nomenclature is the telling of the earlier history of a person, place or thing while referring to said person, place or thing by a name that came into use at a later
Buddy Holly in Fort Worth, Texas called Heads Up. Waylon Jennings voluntarily gave up his seat to J. P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), who had influenza and complained that the tour bus was too cold and uncomfortable for a man of his size. The pilot, Roger Peterson, took off in inclement weather, although he was not certified to fly by instruments only. Shortly after 1:00 am on February 3, 1959, Holly, Valens, Richardson, and Peterson were killed instantly when their plane crashed into a cornfield five miles northwest of the Mason City, Iowa airport shortly after takeoff. Holly's funeral was held on