Surf Ballroom & Museum in Clear Lake, Iowa will be designated official rock and roll landmark CLEVELAND, Oct. 13
CLEVELAND, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum and the Surf Ballroom & Museum will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of
the Winter Dance Party where rock and roll pioneers Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big
Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens played their final concert on February
2, 1959. Later that night after boarding a plane bound for North Dakota,
three of rock and roll's brightest stars fell to the earth, a day immortalized
in Don McLean's 1971 hit song "American Pie" as "the day the music died."
Now, 50 Winters Later, a weeklong celebration at the Surf Ballroom &
Museum will begin on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 honoring the lives, music,
and influence of Holly, The Big Bopper and Valens. This once-in-a-lifetime
event will feature evening concerts, symposium panels and other educational
programs with special appearances from family and friends including Tommy
Allsup, Big Bopper Jr., Carl Bunch, Cousin Brucie, The Crickets, Bob Hale,
Maria Elena Holly, Chris Montez, Johnny Preston, Bobby Vee and many more. On
Monday February 2, the anniversary of the final show, a special concert will
take place at the Surf Ballroom, featuring an all-star lineup that will
perform on the same legendary stage where their music was played five decades
ago. The tribute concert is expected to air nationally as part of the 2009
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television season.
"For one week we will focus on the extraordinary lives and legacies of
three pioneering men who forever left their mark on rock and roll history and
American society," said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame and Museum. "It will be a poignant and memorable experience
honoring this pivotal watershed cultural event."
Jeff Nicholas, president of the Surf Ballroom & Museum, added, "Our
mission both in Clear Lake and at the Surf Ballroom & Museum has always been
to see that Buddy, Ritchie and The Bopper's musical legacies will live
forever. To this end, our desire is to make this a signature event in the
history of rock 'n roll."
Born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936, Buddy Holly was a rock pioneer who has
influenced such icons as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Elvis Costello. Holly
formed The Crickets in Lubbock, Texas and later opened for a young Elvis
Presley before The Crickets hit big with their #1 single "That'll Be The Day"
in 1957. Buddy Holly was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, and in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine listed him as #13 of the 100
Greatest Artists of All Time.
In the short 17 years of his life, Ritchie Valens became a rock and roll
icon with his renowned songs "La Bamba" and "Donna." As one of the first
Latino rockers, Valens has notably influenced such artists as Los Lobos, the
Beach Boys and Los Lonely Boys. Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 2001.
While working as a deejay for KTRM in Beaumont, Texas, Jiles Perry
Richardson Jr. coined the name "The Big Bopper," an alias he would be known by
for the rest of his life and long after. In 1957, The Big Bopper broadcast for
six days straight establishing a world record for continuous radio
broadcasting. Richardson was also a gifted songwriter who penned lyrics for
George Jones and Johnny Preston. "White Lightning" became Jones' first #1
country hit and Preston's "Running Bear" also climbed to #1.
Additionally, the Rock Hall will dedicate the Surf Ballroom & Museum as a
historic rock and roll landmark as part of the Museum's ongoing Landmark
Series which identifies locations in America significant to the origins and
development of rock and roll. Along with the Surf Ballroom, additional sites
that have been designated as historic rock and roll landmarks by the Rock Hall
are the Whisky-a-Go-Go in Los Angeles where the Doors were resident
performers; Brooklyn High School in Brooklyn, Ohio, the location Elvis played
his first concert north of the Mason-Dixon line; and The Crossroads in
Clarksdale, Mississippi, the cradle of the blues.
For more information on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, visit
www.rockhall.com. For more information about the 50 Winters Later event, visit
www.50winterslater.com.
SOURCE The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
