THE CRICKETS from left: Joe B. Mauldin, Buddy Holly and
Jerry Allison. 

Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holley
(September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959)

Singer-songwriter Buddy Holly was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s
rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the
Great Depression.

During his short career, Holly wrote and recorded many songs. He is often
regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of
two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular
popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling
Stones, and Eric Clapton,

From left, American rock and roll legends Ritchie Valens, 17, Buddy Holly, 22, and J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson, 28, who died in a small-
plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959.

Rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.
“The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after
takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorhead,
Minnesota. Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and
pilot error. Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a
No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day.”

Gull Avenue Crash site is located west of intersection of 315th Street
and Gull Avenue., Clear Lake, IA.

MIKE GRACIA

On this day, Pvt. Eddie Slovik became the first American
soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion
and the only one who suffered such a fate during World
War II.

On this day in 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S.
Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as part of its plan to conquer Southeast Asian territories; the raid, which claims 2,400 American
lives, would prompt the United States to declare war against Japan
the next day.

The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.