Mason City, Iowa
On February 3, 1959, a Beechcraft Bonanza 35 airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and the pilot Roger Peterson, crashed into a field near Mason City. Singer Don McLean's popular 1971 song "American Pie" made this event and February 3 known as "The Day the Music Died."