A brush with Rock 'N' Roll Royalty
...By Richard Gilbert
I am now two degrees of separation from Buddy Holly!
It happened last Sunday night at a fund-raiser for the beautiful Lakeside Labs at the edge of West Lake Okoboji.
Before I continue, though, here is a party tip when you find yourself in a place where almost everyone around you is a stranger as I did. After an introduction, you ask a stranger: Where are you from originally?
Just that one question. Then wait for the response. You will likely hear a life story. At a minimum, the answer will keep going long enough for you to interject a nugget or two about how interesting you are.
Last night, the question was a gold mine.
As I nibbled on the appetizers, I was seated next to a lady quite a bit my junior. In response to my trusted conversational opener, she revealed she was originally from California and moved to Okoboji, Iowa, about ten years ago. And, drum roll, she was the sister of Rock and Roll Legend Ritchie Valens! She is Connie Valens, who was only eight when her 17-year-old big brother died.
It was February 3, 1959. Forever known since as ‘The Day the Music Died.’ A single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed minutes after a midnight takeoff from the Mason City Airport.
Aboard were her brother Ritchie Valens, J.P Richardson (the Big Bopper), the pilot Roger Peterson, and Buddy Holly. It crashed minutes after takeoff. There were no survivors.
"I was completely devastated,” said Connie. “Ritchie was a father figure to me.”
Valen’s sister keeps her brother’s memory alive by making guest appearances.
When he was inducted posthumously into the national Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, Connie Valens accepted the honor on his behalf.
Tomorrow night (7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 29), on stage at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, there will be a Jukebox Rock Show featuring Sting Ray Anthony. He will reprise Ritchie Valens’ songs and hits. I am pretty sure Connie will be there.
I asked Connie if she knew Buddy Holly's ‘widowed bride’ recalling the reference to Maria Elena Holly in the 1971 Don McLean song, ‘American Pie.’ Connie said Maria became a close friend for many years and remembered her as a ‘real pistol.’ Maria Elena, now 89, still lives in Texas.
There will also be a bit of Rock and Roll historical memorabilia displayed at the Pearson Lakes Art Center this week. It is the original condolence letter Holly's mother Ella Pauline wrote to Ritchie’s (and Connie’s) mom after the crash. They are words from one grieving mother to another dated February 14, 1959, Valentine’s Day.
Coincidentally, I thought as I heard some 50s and early 60s songs playing in the background at the American Classic Cafe in Spencer: this music lives on. I usually hit XM’s 50s station and hope to hear La Bamba.
Think about it for a moment. Connie’s brother was touring with Buddy Holly! Now I know somebody who knew somebody who performed with my all-time favorite singer. I'd wager most of you reading this can not only name many of Buddy’s hits but can sing them as well. He was only 22 when he died but a senior citizen compared to Ritchie Valens, whose career spanned only eight months, who had two big hit records and a life of music fame ahead of him. Sadly, in death, Valens became a Rock and Roll icon.
Ask most old-timers, and they can tell you where they were when they heard about the crash—bad news on the doorstep. At the time, my fraternity brothers planned a junket to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, a three-hour drive north of Indianola, but a lousy weather forecast kept us from making the trip.
We know the story. Others slated to perform that night in Clear Lake took a bus ride to the next gig in Moorhead, MN. But Buddy, the star, wanted to avoid another long freezing bus ride. Ritchie won a coin toss to win a seat on the charter. And a young bass guitarist gave up his spot on the plane. That guitarist would become country music superstar Waylon Jennings.
Connie Valens came to Iowa ten years ago from her home in California and now lives in Okoboji. Folks around the Iowa Great Lakes area revere music and even have a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of the stars who played the Roof Garden in Arnolds Park. Her relationships with those keeping her brother’s music alive caused her to move from California to Iowa.
“People in Iowa were so very nice, she recalled. “After Ritchie died, for a long time, I only thought of Iowa as cold and dark. It’s beautiful here.”
I seldom have a brush with fame, so I asked if I could get a picture with her. She graciously agreed. In the photo, you can see the family resemblance to her famous brother.
The other guy smiling is me because it sparked my rock ‘n’ roll memories. If someone had told me I would ever get that close to Buddy Holly, my reply would have been:
That’ll be the day!
Richard Gilbert
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Learn more: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died
The Valens website: Ritchie Valens
American Pie: Lyrics
Editors note:
HOT OFF THE PRESS. For those who care about local journalism, here’s a nice bit of good news. Amy Duncan and Mark Davitt are buying the Indianola Record-Herald! The town couldn’t ask for better local ownership. Whew. Gannett is shedding some of its smaller newspapers, and the sale of this property was just revealed.
From today’s announcement:
Both Duncan and Davitt have deep roots in Indianola and Warren County…
…[Amy Duncan] is a 1984 graduate of Indianola High School, she has bachelors and masters degrees in journalism from Drake University. She was a reporter, editor, publisher, and vice president of weekly newspapers for the Des Moines Register until July of 2018. She and Davitt started the Indianola Independent Advocate online newspaper, serving Warren County, in January of 2019….
…Davitt, the son of Phil and Theo Davitt, both deceased, is a 1970 graduate of Martensdale-St. Marys High School and was a photographer, operations manager and managing editor of the Record-Herald until 1992, when he became chief of photography at the Ames Daily Tribune. He owned the Diamond Trail News in Sully until 2002.
For more on this good news, read the announcement: LOCAL COUPLE BUYS RECORD-HERALD AND INDIANOLA TRIBUNE
Congratulations to Duncan, Davitt, and all of you who care about Indianola and local journalism.
Julie Gammack
Do you know you can subscribe to this Iowa Potluck column for free? You can!
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What a wonderful story, brings back memories of a legend. Steve is smiling down. We both wish we could be with you. You and Steve have the gift of conversation. One time when we were at Jimmy's restaurant in Des Moines for brunch our waitress, the daughter of the funeral home director in Okoboji, remembered the funeral of Buddy Holly when she was only a child. You can imagine Steve's response.
Connie is wonderful. She walked me across the stage when I was inducted inti the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. she calmed a nervous me! I will never forget that moment!