Yesterday, February 3rd, marks the 62nd anniversary of the deaths of 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 17-year old Richie Valens, and 28-year old J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in an airplane accident in 1959 near Clear Lake, Iowa.
We came to know today as “The Day the Music Died’ from the first verse in Don McLean's "American Pie":
February made me shiver / With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep / I couldn't take one more step
I can’t remember if I cried / When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside / The day the music died
To mark the occasion, as well as celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of “American Pie” in late 1971, stations are being asked to play the song today (Wednesday) to observe “The Day the Music Died.”
Ironically, McLean says the reference in "American Pie" to the events of February 3rd, 1959 is the only one he's ever admitted to.
Another line in "American Pie" reflected on the music of Buddy Holly & The Crickets. In their song “That’II be the Day” the chorus is as follows:
Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’II be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
’Cause that’ll be the day when I die”
In “American Pie,” McLean's similar line appears in the chorus as well:
Bye, bye Miss American Pie / drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin’ this’ll be the day that I die / This’ll be the day that I die
Finally to mark the day, McLean and the country vocal group Home Free have put together a new video for "American Pie." It's also the first time McLean has recorded the song since the original recording.