On February 3, 1959, a plane crashed shortly after taking off from Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four people aboard: pilot Roger Peterson and musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The date became known as The Day the Music Died. Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1936. He was only five years old when he earned his first paycheck for singing—$5 at a local talent show. He formed a band in high school that performed on local radio and the country music circuit. They recorded several country songs for Decca in Nashville, but f...