Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela)
(May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959)

Valens was a pioneer in the Chicano rock movement who released the records
"La Bamba" and “Donna” in 1958. He learned to play the guitar right-handed
even though he was naturally left-handed.

On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died",
Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly
and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson.

Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

1959

Frank Sinatra (left) and Elvis Presley

The TVSpecial "The Frank Sinatra Timex Special – Welcome Home Elvis”
was recorded on March 26th 1960 for the May 12 broadcast. It was the
first televised appearance of Elvis since coming home from his military
service in Germany. The show was recorded in Black and White, since
ABC-TV didn’t start using until 1962. 

"Satisfaction" became a big hit, giving the Stones their
first number one in the US.

Camille Bohannon

Burt Freeman Bacharach is 87 years old today.

 
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Berra is a 18-time MLB All-Star catcher and 3-time American League MVP
who won 10 World Series Championships with the New York Yankees. He
was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in a voting of
fans in 1999.