Rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.
“The Big Bopper” Richardson, along with pilot Roger Peterson, 
were killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane
crashed 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.

After mechanical difficulties with the tour bus, Holly had chartered
a plane for his band to fly between stops on the Winter Dance
Party Tour. However, Richardson, who had the flu, convinced
Holly’s band member Waylon Jennings to give up his seat, and
Ritchie Valens won a coin toss for another seat on the plane.

Singer Don McLean (above) memorialized Holly, Valens and
Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit “American Pie,” which
refers to February 3, 1959 as “the day the music died.”

Holly’s headstone in the City of Lubbock Cemetery.

The cultural icon Beyoncé, also took home the award for best country
duo/group performance for “II MOST WANTED” featuring
Miley Cyrus.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

CARLATA BRADLEY

 
1952

Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996)

Gene Kelly starred in, choreographed, and, with Stanley Donen,
co-directed some of the most well-regarded musical films of the
1940s and 1950s.

Kelly’s health declined steadily in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In July 1994, he suffered a stroke and stayed in Ronald Reagan
UCLA Medical Center hospital for seven weeks. In early 1995, he
had another stroke which made him severely disabled. Kelly died
on February 2, 1996.

1949

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791)
(Unfinished portrait,1782)

Mozart was a composer, instrumentalist, and music
teacher.

His full baptized name was Johannes Chrysostomus
Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.

He was born in Salzburg (then a free archbishopric
city within the Holy Roman Empire, now Austria).

He wrote more than 800 musical works including many
chamber pieces, church music, minuets, dances, songs,
and a Requiem. Along with Bach and Beethoven, Mozart
is viewed as one of the greatest composers who ever lived.

Mozart also had his own special violin. It is called the
"Klotz" violin. The violin still exists today and is in a
museum called the Salzburg Mozarteum.  
       
Mozart died on December 5, 1791 at the age of 35. The
cause of death is uncertain.
(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 
TIM MAGUIRE

Concorde G-BOAA takes off from London Heathrow on
its first passenger service to Bahrain.

Concorde entered service on 21 January 1976 with Air
France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from
London Heathrow.  

The passengers onboard British Airways Concorde.

The Concorde passenger cabin at the Museum of Flight near Seattle.