Dion DiMucci with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), Frankie Sardo, and other performers. On February 3, 1959, after a concert stop in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly and others decided to charter a flight to the next venue rather than travel on the tour bus. Dion was invited to accompany the group but decided that he did not want to spend $36 for the flight, as it was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment and he couldn't justify the indulgence. The plane crashed, killing all on board: Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the pilot Roger
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story Buddy and his two friends form a Country & Western band – Buddy Holly & the Crickets – and begin to carve out a career in music. After a difficult start at Decca Records in Nashville, they sign a contract with up-and-coming, innovative record producer Norman Petty who is based in Clovis, New Mexico. Within hours, Buddy Holly & the Crickets start to churn out hits from the recording studio built in Norman’s backyard, among them "That'll Be The Day", which will rocket up the charts to number one in a matter of weeks. Buddy Holly & the Crickets are