Bobby Vee "The Day the Music Died," three of the four headline acts in the lineup of the traveling Winter Dance Party—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper—were killed in the crash of a V-tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, along with the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. (Dion DiMucci, the fourth headliner, had opted not to travel on the plane.) It crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, en route to the next show on the tour itinerary, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then 15 years old, and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys (including his older brother Bill) calling themselves the Shadows volunteered
Buddy Holly: Listen to Me; The Ultimate Buddy Party Others, such as Keith Richards, Ringo Starr, Jackson Browne, shared memories via video message. Buddy's widow Maria Elena Holly, seated beside Phil Everly was in attendance, singing along with every song. The event was also filmed for a PBS pledge drive special featured throughout USA during December 2011 and May/June 2012. Buddy Holly: Listen to Me; The Ultimate Buddy Party Buddy Holly: Listen to Me; The Ultimate Buddy Party is a recording of the event held on September 7, 2011, to celebrate on would have been Buddy Holly's 75th birthday Buddy's birthday, while supporting fundraising for PBS. Produced by Songmasters,