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.

Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has sold more than 130 million
records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians
of all time. He has written and recorded ten singles that reached
No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

(FOX NEWS) – Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of
Canadian-American rock group The Band, died in his sleep
this morning. He was 87.

His death was confirmed Tuesday by The Canadian Press,
which cited Hudson’s friend, Jan Haust. Additional details
were not immediately available. Hudson had been living in
a nursing home in Woodstock, upstate New York.

Garth Hudson made his most recent public appearance on
April 16, 2023, performing in Kingston, New York.

SANDY KOZEL

Elvis Presley at 2 years old with his
parents in the year 1937.

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and
first recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda under the title
"Mbube", through South African Gallo Record Company.

In 1961, a version adapted into English by the doo-wop
group the Tokens became a number-one hit in the United
States on this day in 1961. It earned millions in royalties
from cover versions and film licensing.

Lyrics of Linda’s original version were written in Zulu, while
those from the Tokens’ adaptation were written by George
David Weiss.

The song has been adapted and covered internationally by
many pop and folk artists. It was first recorded in the United
States by the Weavers in November 1951, and published
under the title "Wimoweh."

The Tokens