Ritchie Valens minutes after takeoff for reasons still unknown. The crash killed all three passengers and pilot Roger Peterson instantly upon impact. As with Holly and Richardson, Valens suffered massive and unsurvivable head injuries along with blunt force trauma to the chest. At just 17 years old, Valens was the youngest to die in the crash. The tragedy inspired singer Don McLean to write his 1971 hit "American Pie", immortalizing February 3 as "The Day the Music Died". Valens's remains were buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California. Valens was a pioneer of Chicano rock and Latin rock and inspired
The Buddy Holly Story Role, and Tex Rudloff, Joel Fein, Curly Thirlwell and Willie D. Burton for Best Sound. The Buddy Holly Story The Buddy Holly Story is a 1978 biographical film which tells the life story of rock musician Buddy Holly. It features an Academy Award-winning musical score, adapted by Joe Renzetti and Oscar-nominated lead performance by Gary Busey. The film also stars Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, Conrad Janis, William Jordan, and Maria Richwine, who played Maria Elena Holly. It was adapted by Robert Gittler from "Buddy Holly: His Life and Music", the biography of Holly by John Goldrosen, and was directed