VH1- Behind the Music: The Day the Music Died by Martin Huxley and Quinton Skinner

"The Day the Music Died" is a book that covers the weeks leading up to February 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, better known as "The Big Bopper", died in a plane crash at Clear Lake, Iowa.

The three men were at the top of their game, musically. Buddy Holly was coming back from low record sales and was looking to start his own label, where he believed the big money was to be found. Ritchie Valens was just starting on his musical career, and the Big Bopper had started out as a DJ, but recorded his own song, "Chantilly Lace". But he wasn't planning on remaining a singer for long... he wanted to write songs.

They were in Clear Lake to play as part of the Winter Dance Party. By this time, they had been on the road for almost two weeks straight. They were living out of reconditioned school buses (nothing like the tour busses stars have today) and were driving through the night to make their next play date. The busses had heaters, but they were often broken, and J.P. Richardson was coming down with a pretty dire cold.

Buddy Holly had an idea. He sent ahead to the manager of the Ballroom where they were going to play in Clear Lake and asked him to charter a plane for his band, so they could fly to the next stop, do laundry and sleep in a hotel room for the night. The manager did so. But when Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson found out about Buddy's plans, they wanted to go, too. One of Buddy's backup bandsmen was Waylon Jennings, and J.P. Richardson persuaded him to give him the ticket instead. Similarly, Ritchie Valens persuaded the other member of the band to trade him his ticket. When Buddy Holly heard of Waylon Jennings switch, he said to him. "Are you sure about this?" and Waylon said he was. Whereupon Buddy said, "I hope your bus breaks down!" (The buses constantly broke down in the cold) and Waylon retorted, "Yeah, well, I hope your plane crashes!" Rather ironically prophetic considering what happened that night. And Waylon Jennings didn't get over the guilt he felt for years.

This book covers the lives of the three young rockers, the history behind their hits, and their enduring legacy, as well as the fallout from the tragedy. With interviews with people they left behind, and people who were there on the tour, this book is packed with information that lets you feel some small measure of the tragedy that was inflicted on the world of rock and roll. While not quite as real and immediate as the actual special itself (since the experience is filtered through written words and not the actual, live interviews, it still has the power to affect readers.