American Pie

There are several reasons why one would say the ‘50s era of rock and roll ended.  In 1959 Jerry Lee Lewis, as mentioned before, married his 13-year-old cousin, Little Richard retired to become a preacher in 1957, and Chuck Berry was arrested.  But one of the most significant days was February 3, 1959.  February 3, 1959 was the “Day the Music Died,” as put by Don McLean.

Rock and rollers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.  Buddy Holly, along with his new backing band, toured with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.  After a gig, the conditions on the tour bus were very poor, as the bus had no heat.  Holly decided to get a plane, where the Big Bopper took a place on the warm plane because of the flu, and Ritchie Valens won his seat on the plane by a coin toss against Tommy Allsup (a member of Holly’s backing band).  From inclement weather, the plane crashed and the three rock and rollers and the pilot were killed.

[Source:  YouTube]

In the song “American Pie” by Don McLean, he says, “But February made me shiver / With every paper I’d deliver / Bad news on the doorstep / I couldn’t take one more step,” and he continues with, “I can’t remember if I cried / When I read about his widowed bride / But something touched me deep inside / The day the music died.”  Anyone who was alive when this happened can agree that it was a tragic day, especially in rock and roll.  That was the day the music died.  The era of early rock and roll was officially over with the tragedy.  Three men who had brought nothing but happiness and identity to rock and roll and what rock and roll would later become.  They may not have been around long, but their presences contributed to what rock and roll is today.

And with this, the beginning era of rock and roll ended.  But rock and roll would continue with the teen idol in 1959 and then with the first wave of the British Invasion in 1964.

The Beatles photographed by Bob Bonis

The Rolling Stones photographed by Dezo Hoffmann