National Day the Music Died Day

February 3 marks the day in 1959 that rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with the pilot, Roger Peterson. Singer-songwriter Don McLean so referred to the event as "The Day the Music Died" in his 1971 song "American Pie."