RITCHIE VALENS
Name: Ritchie Valens
Birth name: Ricardo Steven Valenzuela
Born: 13 May 1941 Pacoima, California, USA
Died: 3 February 1959 Clear Lake, Iowa, USA
Genre: Rock and roll
Occupation: Singer
Instrument: Guitar
Ritchie Valens (Ricardo Steven Valenzuela, May 13, 1941 - February 3, 1959) was
a pioneer of rock and roll and a forefather to the Chicano rock movement. His
professional career lasted a period of only eight months, during which time he
recorded some of the most influential songs of the 1950s rock and roll era. His
best known song, "La Bamba," is one of the very first Latin Rock songs to become
a hit, making Valens the father of the Spanish rock and roll movement. On
February 3, 1959, on what has become known as The Day the Music Died, Valens was
killed in a small-plane crash in Iowa, a tragedy which also claimed the lives of
fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
Name: Ritchie Valens
Birth name: Ricardo Steven Valenzuela
Born: 13 May 1941 Pacoima, California, USA
Died: 3 February 1959 Clear Lake, Iowa, USA
Genre: Rock and roll
Occupation: Singer
Instrument: Guitar
Ritchie Valens (Ricardo Steven Valenzuela, May 13, 1941 - February 3, 1959) was
a pioneer of rock and roll and a forefather to the Chicano rock movement. His
professional career lasted a period of only eight months, during which time he
recorded some of the most influential songs of the 1950s rock and roll era. His
best known song, "La Bamba," is one of the very first Latin Rock songs to become
a hit, making Valens the father of the Spanish rock and roll movement. On
February 3, 1959, on what has become known as The Day the Music Died, Valens was
killed in a small-plane crash in Iowa, a tragedy which also claimed the lives of
fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.