Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets the position of lead singer with the group in 1961. He would remain through early 1965. Tommy Allsup, the guitarist who had toured with Holly during the fateful Winter Dance Party frequently played with the band. Singing star and Liberty records artist Bobby Vee had a number of connections with Holly and the Crickets. After Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in the tragic February 1959 plane crash, Fargo, North Dakota teenager Bobby Vee was among several local young musicians recruited to join the rest of the Winter Dance Party tour, beginning with the next scheduled
Don McLean 2012, the PBS network broadcast a feature-length documentary about the life and music of McLean called "Don McLean: American Troubadour" produced by four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jim Brown. McLean is one of the primary influences on the UK singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, who said McLean's song "Vincent" was "the first song I liked" after hearing it on an episode of The Simpsons. He devoured McLean's back catalogue and then delved into the artists that inspired McLean, including Buddy Holly and the Weavers. Tupac Shakur also cited McLean's "Vincent" as a personal inspiration. McLean is credited as the writer of Drake's song