The rest of the world finally caught up to the story about Chubby Checker's special induction ceremony into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which was held at The Des Plaines Theatre a couple of weeks ago.
But, thanks to a special scoop handed down by Des Plaines Theatre CEO Ron Onesti, Forgotten Hits Readers knew about it before it even happened!!!
And not only that, we offered special tickets to all of the "locals" on our list to see it happen live!
Tom Cuddy sent us a couple of links as the story spread about Chubby refusing to go to the ceremony and booking a gig that night instead ...
83-Year-Old ‘Twist’ Icon Refuses Rock Hall — His Response Is Legendary
https://parade.com/news/83-year-old-twist-icon-refuses-rock-hall-his-response-is-legendary?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Fentertainment
... but that was already old news to Forgotten Hits Readers.
And, since we were there to watch this special induction, here's a clip of the ceremony, which will be edited into the live broadcast when it airs in November. (kk)
By the way, the historic Des Plaines Theatre celebrated its 100th birthday this weekend with a special parade and concert taking the audience thru the decades. Special guests included Micky Dolenz, Jim Peterik of The Ides Of March, Danny Seraphine, original drummer for the rock group Chicago and, Priscilla Presley, all of whom took part in the festivities.
There is ALWAYS something happening at The Des Plaines Theatre ... and its sister showcase theater, The Arcada.
Just in case you missed it ...
Here is our original Chubby Checker coverage ...
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/07/a-series-of-very-special-announcements.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/07/60-years-ago-today-july-25th-1965-and.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/07/its-impossible-not-to-have-fun-at.html
A second Guess Who reunion date has been announced. It’ll take place on January 31st at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, ON. More dates are expected to be announced shortly.
The band is now fronted by both Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, who recently won back the rights to the group’s name. They previously announced that they would “break in” the new act at sea as part of The Rock Legends Cruise. This Canadian date actually precedes the cruise, which sets sail on February 23rd.
We recently ran reviews of both Burton Cummings’ solo show in Skokie, IL, as well as the Bachman-Turner Overdrive appearance in Elk Grove at the end of last month. You can find these reviews here:
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/07/burton-cummings-2025.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2025/08/today-weve-got-couple-of-new-concert.html
Bachman and Cummings are teaming up for what they’re calling a 2 ½ hour show of the biggest hits of The Guess Who as well as their solo accomplishments. Should be quite the show to see! (kk)
On August 15th, The New York Mets will pay tribute to The Beatles’ first appearance at Shea Stadium sixty years earlier with a special pre-game concert by 1964, one of the premier Beatles tribute bands on the circuit.
The Beatles set a concert attendance record at the time when
they played to 55,000 fans. The first 15,000 fans thru the gates on the 15th
will receive a replica concert ticket from their 1965 show there. (Naturally, Forgotten Hits will ALSO pay
tribute on August 15th as part of our on-going 60 YEARS AGO TODAY feature.) kk
Re: Making Mariage Work
By Henry VIII
This is a very short read.
It says:
I'm Henry VIII, I am.
I care not!
However, I have found other books of interest:
"The Game of Love"
by Catherine of Aragon
"Easy Come, Easy Go"
by Anne Boleyn
"Jean" - a nickname for Jane
by Jane Seymour
"This Door Swings Both Ways"
by Anne of Cleves
"Runaround Sue"
by Catherine Howard
"I Will Survive"
by Catherine Parr
Enjoy your summer reading!
Shelley
by Catherine Howard
From Tom Cuddy …
Dion & The Belmonts | Dion DiMucci | Chazz Palminteri Show | EP 236
https://youtu.be/dnCaY5MkUV4?si=rwvvY5BHXD4RkkEM
From Chazz …
In this week’s episode of The Chazz Palminteri Show, I sit down with the legendary Dion DiMucci, the voice behind hits like Runaround Sue, The Wanderer, and one of the biggest inspirations behind A Bronx Tale. We talk about growing up in the Bronx, the early days of rock and roll, the changing face of the music industry, and the cultural heartbeat that shaped both of our lives. We also cover: Dion’s rise to fame with The Belmonts, how Bronx culture shaped his music and mine, the real stories behind Runaround Sue and The Wanderer, what it means to stay grounded after decades of success, his perspective on faith, recovery, and reinvention, the lasting legacy of doo-wop and old-school soul.
This episode is a celebration of two Bronx boys, music, memories, and the magic of staying true to your roots. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe! Let us know your favorite Dion track or a memory tied to his music in the comments!
You can catch the whole show via the link above (kk)
"Easy Come, Easy Go," the Jan and Dean vehicle you remembered from 1965, was a feature film, not a TV series, per Wikipedia. (link) It also starred the ubiquitous '60s British film comic actor Terry-Thomas.
It references an article from the Australian site Filmink (link) which identified the other injured person in the train accident as its director, Barry Shear, who had a TON of TV director credits, which likely led to you thinking it was a series.
Paramount would hang on to the title for an unrelated movie in 1967, oddly directed by another TV veteran, John Rich, which starred ... Elvis Presley!
Shear's first two directing credits, verified by IMDb and mentioned in this article at WeirdWildRealm.com (link), came in 1945 with two "Soundies," forerunner of TV music videos (Wikipedia), which played on a jukebox-like player, the "Panoram," built by Mills Novelty Company from Chicago!
Bob Frable
In my never ending quest to watch every movie ever made by Elvis Presley (trust me, it ain’t easy!!!), I just happened to watch “Easy Come, Easy Go” last week.
It starts out a whole lot better than it ends, straying from the tried-and-true, repetitive plot of most of Elvis’ movies. The King stars as a Navy underwater specialist who is trained at disabling mines. While deep diving to investigate one, he also happens to come across the remains of a ship that sunk ages ago and is believed to have treasure on board. Other divers become curious to see why Presley keeps going back to this particular spot and soon the chase is on to see who can get to the treasure first. (Let me warn you … if this sounds even the slightest bit enticing, it’s about ten times worse than you can possibly imagine!)
There are a couple of tolerable songs but, other than that, not much else worth watching (other than a shapely go-go dancer, who puts her all into every exhibit.) kk
One of the biggest records Brian Hyland had in the OKC area was his 1970 song LONELY TEARDROPS, a remake of the old Jackie Wilson tune.
Larry
Yep, that one followed his Top Three remake of “Gypsy Woman” in 1971. It ultimately reached #35 in Record World but stopped at #54 in Billboard. (kk)
Speaking of Brian Hyland and Elvis Presley, I was in the audience at The International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, the same night that Brian Hyland was there. Actually, Brian Hyland and Del Shannon were there together at the show. You hear Elvis do the intro of both of them and then sing "Runaway." Pix of Brian and Del with Elvis are out there on the web.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, I snagged this one (best quality I could find – which ain’t sayin’ much!!!)
The Elvis midnight show I saw was recorded by RCA that night. It was later released on CD as “Elvis All Shook Up.” When the show ended, we thought it was over. But no ...
Elvis returns to the stage and says, "Would you like to hear some more?" Sure!
He performed the song "Rubberneckin'" but stopped the band at one point to try another take since the tape was rolling. This is the song you hear on “Elvis All Shook Up.” Also, the "Are you Lonesome Tonight?" laughing version came from this show. This was the August 26th midnight show. After the show, I heard The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, who were playing in the lounge that night.
Jim Roup
Man, what a show!
“All Shook Up” must be a bootleg recording of the show. I have a special FTD 2-CD version and, after doing a little bit of digging, I found that BOTH shows for all five appearances at The International, August 22nd - August 26th, were recorded and, as I suspected, the best takes for each song were then edited together for release as the "In Person At The International Hotel" album.
My 2-CD FTD copy has the original LP release (tracks recorded at multiple shows) ... the COMPLETE August 22nd Dinner Show ... and some bonus extras, including "Runaway" (which ended up on his NEXT LP, "On Stage, February, 1970," even 'tho it was recorded back in August of '69) ... and "Rubberneckin'," which came from the August 26th Midnight Show that you attended.
COOL!!!
I saw Elvis a total of three times - but never in Vegas, which would have been the ultimate dream show to see. The first time (1972) he was appearing at The Chicago Stadium ... and there was an electricity in the air when he came out that I have never experienced before or since. Simply amazing, just knowing who he was ... and all that he had done. (kk)
Congrats on seeing Elvis! Three times! 👍
I caught Ringo Starr's All Star Band's first tour at that venue out in Hoffman Estates. I bet you saw shows there. A funny story ...
My old pal Steve got a job as a student karate teacher at Ed Parker's Karate Studio in West L.A.
As a joke, I told him, “Don't be surprised if you meet Elvis.”
One day, Ed told Steve “I want you to come back to my private office.” Sure enough, Elvis was relaxing in a chair. Ed casually said to Steve, "Oh, that's Elvis." He got a fast Hello and was very surprised!
Jim Roup
I would LOVED to have met Elvis under such relaxed circumstances … away from the spotlight and the need to be “in character.” I’ve read SO much on the man … and feel there are very few who actually got to know him … the REAL him, I mean. (kk)
Kent,
I was just now notified that singer Jane Morgan has passed away at the age of 101. The person who told me thought that she had passed away years ago. I always did like her 1959 song WITH OPEN ARMS.
Larry Neal
We’re going WAY back to look at the hits of Jane Morgan. Her biggest rock era hit was “Fascination” (#5, 1957) … but she also hit The National Top Ten with “Two Different Worlds” in 1956. (#10 in Music Vendor but only #41 in Billboard) “With Open Arms” came out in 1959 and peaked at #39. Wow, 101 years old! Not bad!
I also see that she was married to talent manager Jerry Weintraub for FIFTY YEARS (or half her life) until his death in 2015! (kk)
Hi Kent,
Nice work on Ed Sullivan stories ...
Happy Belated birthday to Pat Smear of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame. Seen here goofing on Sunset Strip.
Jim Roup
After a long battle with cancer, vocalist Terry Reid passed away last week at the age of 75.
Terry was guitarist Jimmy Page’s first choice to be the lead singer of the new group he was forming, Led Zeppelin. Reid famously turned the gig down as he had a tour of his own coming up and felt he couldn’t devote adequate time to both projects. Instead, he recommended a new, young vocalist by the name of Robert Plant and the rest, as they say, is history. (Obviously highly regarded by his peers, Reid reportedly previously turned down the lead vocalist position with Deep Purple. He just may be the greatest “coulda been” rock stars of all time!)
As a solo artist, he had already opened for acts like Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones in the UK, where he was known as “Superlungs.” That respect still loomed large … in the early 2000s, Reid headlined a residency at a Los Angeles club, the Joint, where his guests included Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Eric Burdon and Roger Daltrey.
Goodbye to one of the finest voices we never knew! (kk)
Remembering Terry Reid, who passed away a few days ago. Saw him in the late 60's at The Whisky and opening for The Rolling Stones in '69. Got to know him a bit. He wanted me to set up this photo of him at The Whisky A Go Go Anniversary show.
From Timmy …
Concert Poster Of The Day / 1970
And look at some of the acts still to come!!! (kk)
You might enjoy this 1964 great piece of British TV from Feb 8, 1964! That was the day before the fabs' first US Sullivan appearance. Here, we get half an hour of pure 60s Brit comedy and lodged in the middle, two EXCELLENT live appearances by the Stones. They do a Beatles tune we know was their first and you get to see them raw and alive in this performance with Brian playing NORMAL (unusual for him later) group instruments -- first electric and then switching to acoustic guitar as well as singing some back up, too! At the end, there is a skit where the normal cast is joking about the Stones a little (14:20 in) and saying "The Brits don’t have an ear for a good tune." That was a bit like when they appeared on Red Skelton here in '64 and the Stones did not appreciate his jokingly critical comments about them. Also, I paused it at 13:58 to look at the radio dial they showed. The dial seemed similar to ours with going from 530 to 1600, but maybe was different bands possible thru that little plastic wheel in center? Then there is the push button settings TV set (15:45 in) with ALL UHF frequencies and one turning knob for the on off/volume. Here, most TV stations then were VHF. Now, we have both pretty equally, I think. All in all, interesting AND informative!
The Arthur Haynes Show S11 Ep. 6 (1080p) ft. The Rolling Stones
Clark Besch
Really nice quality for this vintage. I always liked their version of “You Better Move On,” an Arthur Alexander tune that hit #19 here in The States in 1962. (This guy seems to have had a much greater impact in The UK than he did here in the US, with The Beatles covering his tune “Anna,” too, for their first LP.) Thanks, Clark. (kk)
Listen to a SPECIAL NEW PODCAST EPISODE with David Leaf (along with Mark Dillon & Phil Miglioratti)
Days after Brian Wilson passed away - and on his birthday - his biographer and good friend David Leaf returned for part one of a special two-part episode.
David shares his recollections of Brian's challenging recent years.
It's group therapy for David and hosts Mark Dillon and Phil Miglioratti, as they discuss:
- How Brian made the world a better place
- Stepping out of The Beatles' shadow
- Did the obits really "get" Brian
- More insight into why SMiLE was shelved, and they ask
- "Did Brian's ambitions really die with SMiLE?"
Of course, we also talk to David about his great new book on the saga of that legendary album.
Available on SoundCloud ...
Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Music, Audible.
And David's book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Brian Wilson is available on Amazon in the U.S.: amzn.to/4fl5kmg and in the UK: amzn.to/49czwn1
A first-of-its-kind tribute to rock ‘n’ roll icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper
By Harvey Kubernik © 2025
This September, the Surf Ballroom & Museum will unveil ‘Not Fade Away: The Immersive Surf Ballroom Experience’ – a permanent first-of-its-kind experience honoring the legacy of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson in Clear Lake, Iowa. Opening festivities kick off on Thursday, September 4, with a book signing and special preview, leading up to the full exhibit debut and ribbon cutting on Sunday, September 7 – what would have been Buddy Holly’s 88th birthday. Housed in the newly-completed Music Enrichment Center (MEC) adjacent to the historic Surf Ballroom, ‘Not Fade Away’ is more than an exhibit — it’s a transformative, multi-sensory journey through the birth of rock 'n' roll and the timeless sound that changed American music forever. Through immersive digital storytelling, historic artifacts, restored audio, and original archival materials, guests will walk in the footsteps of legends.
A press release from 2911 Media further describes the endeavor:
“Not Fade Away reflects the power of public-private partnership and our shared commitment to preserving and promoting Clear Lake’s unique place in American music history,” said Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb. “This project brings national attention, educational opportunity, and cultural significance to our community. It’s an investment not only in heritage, but in our future.”
“This is a moment years in the making,” said Brian Luallen, CEO of the Surf Ballroom & Museum. “We’ve combined cutting-edge technology with the soul of rock ‘n’ roll to tell a story that is as moving as it is unforgettable. ‘Not Fade Away’ honors the legacy of the artists who helped define a generation—and reminds us why their music still matters today.”
Never-before-seen artifacts on display at the Surf Music Experience Center include:
Les Paul innovations:
· One of only two existing prototypes for the solid body electric guitar called
· “The Log,” hand built by Les Paul in approximately 1937
· Les Paul's original handwritten plans for the very first 8-track tape recording device
· Les Paul's original 8-track console, which revolutionized modern recording
· 1970 custom Gibson guitar owned and played by Les Paul
· Les Paul's signature groundbreaking “Paulverizer,” one of only three in existence
Celebrity musician artifacts:
· Guitar signed by Buddy Holly while on the 1959 Winter Dance Party Tour
· Les Paul guitar owned and played by Slash, former lead guitarist of Guns ‘n’ Roses
· Les Paul guitar owned and played by Warren Haynes, formerly of the Allman Brothers
· Stratocaster signed by legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy
· BB King signed "Lucille" guitar
· Willie Nelson signed guitar
· Don McLean signed American Pie LP and guitar
· Accordion owned and played by Lawrence Welk
· Leather top hat worn by Slash
Personal effects of Holly, Valens, and Richardson:
· Microphone used by Buddy Holly at his last performance at The Surf Ballroom in 1959
· Red corduroy jacket Buddy Holly wore during his last performance in San Antonio, TX
· Original camera that was used to take the Pulitzer-nominated photos of the fatal plane crash on Feb 3, 1959, that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson
· Hand-tooled leather wallet owned by Ritchie Valens and recovered from the crash
· Briefcase owned by J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and recovered from the crash
· A pair of cufflinks owned by Buddy Holly and recovered from the crash
· Ritchie Valens original Del-Fi Gold Record for "La Bamba" and "Donna"
· Upright bass from the final performance of Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets
For the board of the North Iowa Cultural Center & Museum (NICCM), the nonprofit that owns and operates the Surf Ballroom, the launch is deeply personal.
“This isn’t just about music,” said Jeff Nicholas, President of NICCM’s Board of Directors. “It’s about memory, emotion, and the voices that continue to echo across generations. With ‘Not Fade Away,’ we’re creating a space where history comes alive—and where our children and grandchildren can understand just how powerful one song, one show, or one moment can be.”
The experience is offered in multiple ticket tiers, including exclusive VIP packages that provide access to the Surf Ballroom, immersive gallery, and the historic Carl Fox House, once home to the Surf’s founder. Ticket prices start at $19 and group rates are available. Admission is discounted for city and Cerro Gordo county residents, as well as military veterans, seniors and kids. A full schedule of opening events will be released in the coming weeks.
The legendary Surf Ballroom & Museum is one of only four music venues in the United States designated as a National Historic Landmark. Best known as the final performance site of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, the Surf has welcomed generations of musical artists and fans since 1933. Today, it is a vibrant year-round venue that amplifies the legacy of music culture, education and performance – it’s where the music lives. The Surf is operated by the North Iowa Cultural Center & Museum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and will expand its offerings with the new Music Experience Center (MEC), an immersive attraction, artifact exhibit and event space, opening September 2025. For tickets, event details and more information, visit https://surfballroom.com/mec-immersive-experience-tour/. ‘Not Fade Away’ will operate year-round and includes educational and group tour components. Surf Ballroom & Museum 460 North Shore Drive Clear Lake, Iowa 50428 (641) 357-6151 surfballroom.com.”
February 3, 2025 was the 66th anniversary of tragic airplane crash that subsequently became known as “The Day the Music Died,” sadly referenced in Don McLean’s song, “American Pie.” Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson aka The Big Bopper died along with pilot Roger Peterson.
After a February 2, 1959 “Winter Dance Party” show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson took off from the Mason City airport, in a three-passenger airplane that Holly chartered piloted by Roger Peterson during inclement weather. It crashed into a cornfield in nearby Macon City, Iowa, just minutes after take-off.
I will always remember the February 3, 1959 front page headline in The Los Angeles Times-Mirror, a daily newspaper who reported this accident.
Ritchie Valens’ death was a very big regional loss. He was from Pacoima, a suburb in Southern California. Ritchie’s records were very popular in Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. It was KFWB-AM deejay Gene Weed who first spun his music and the radio station held what seemed like an all-day shiva celebrating the life of Valens, whose record label, Del-Fi, was based in Hollywood.
I saw footage of Buddy Holly once on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, and earlier, when Holly was on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Holly’s records were also spun on Southern California AM radio station KFWB. “Chantilly Lace” by The Big Bopper was a national hit.
In my 1998 interview with Dick Clark, I asked who was the most requested recording artist for licensing?
“Buddy Holly. The irony there was that we once did a retrospective show for ABC, and I had an editor in from San Francisco who lost the Buddy Holly footage. Never found it. The only Buddy Holly footage we have of him doing ‘Peggy Sue’ is from The Arthur Murray Dance Party. I’m still a friend of Mrs. Murray and her former husband who passed on. I told her, ‘Let me have your tapes. You’ll own them always. We’ll just administrate them and we’ll take good care of them and store them in various formats so they won’t get lost.”
On February 3, 1999, I interviewed Keith Richards around a Rolling Stones concert in San Diego. We talked primarily about his just released Wingless Angels album.
However, it wasn’t lost on each of us that 42 years earlier, Buddy Holly, one of his musical heroes, passed. An early hit record of the Rolling Stones was “Not Fade Away,” produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, was the B-side to Buddy Holly’s 1957 chart hit “Oh Boy!”
In March 1958, 14-year old Mick Jagger saw his first rock concert in London at the Woolwich, Granada. “Not Fade Away” made a big impression.
Keith and I had a brief discussion how some music, like his Wingless Angeles endeavour or the sounds of the legendary Sun Records label, or anything by Holly and Eddie Cochran makes immediate impact and a connection on your soul, even decades after initial airplay or retail discovery.
“It sticks. I think because it’s timeless music I call it ‘marrow music.’ Not even bone music. It strikes to the marrow. It’s like a faint echo . . . The body responds to it and I don’t know why…”
“La Sangre Llama” (The Blood Calls).
The music and recorded catalogue of Buddy Holly never died, and the sonic legacy of Ritchie Valens has continued. “Chantilly Lace” is constantly heard daily on oldies and classic rock radio stations. Humourist and songwriter J.P. Richardson, pka The Big Bopper, wrote “White Lighting” that George Jones recorded, and penned “Running Bear” for Johnny Horton. J.P. Richardson is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Singer/songwriter McLean acknowledged the event in his 1971 hit tune “American Pie.”
Now, almost 40 years after its 1987 theatrical release, La Bamba, the biopic of Ritchie Valens, is getting a remake of the Luis Valdez written and directed film. In 2023, Variety reported that Sony Pictures and Mucho Mas Media are in development of a new version. Oscar-nominated writer José Rivera, known for The Motorcycle Diaries and On the Road, will pen the script, and Valdez will serve as an executive producer.
In January 2025, as ongoing fires engulf and devastate the entire region of Southern California, the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center at the Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima on 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd. is serving as shelter and evacuation center for the now homeless victims that are affected by the wildfires.
In Southern California during 2017, a stretch of the Golden State (5) Freeway, is called The Ritchie Valens Memorial Highway, located between the 170 and 118 freeways was named for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Last decade I asked two friends of mine, author/music historian, Roger Steffens, and the late multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Chris Darrow, to share their concert memories of witnessing Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens perform.
Roger Steffens: At Christmas 1957 I went to my first rock and roll show, Alan Freed's giant Christmas Jubilee of Stars at the Paramount Theater on Times Square. The run broke all attendance records, including the previous best, a Frank Sinatra tour in 1944.My friends and I had to lie to our parents, because they were sure we would be mugged if we went to a show where a lot of black kids were going to be.
“So, we told them we were going to Hackensack to see a movie, but got on the bus to the Port Authority instead and walked the few blocks to the Paramount, which had a line stretching three times around the block.
“The show included Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis (back to back), the teenage Everly Brothers, the Teenagers, Lee Andrews and the Hearts (with Questlove's father), Danny and the Juniors, The Dubs (dear to my reggae soul) and eight others. Most of the second line performers got only one or two songs each, but Buddy Holly and the Crickets got five, because they were on the charts under both names at the time. They were all dressed in tuxedos, and played with a stand-up bass.
“The audience went wild for Buddy, clapping along with his rhythms, and singing along with his parade of hits. I remember watching Alan Freed's 5-6 pm Rock and Roll Party TV show on WABD, Channel 5, in New York City.
“He interviewed Buddy about the national tour they had done together in 1956, during which they flew in a small plane to get to a gig, and encountered severe turbulence. Buddy recalled the ‘woop-woop’ as the plane fell and climbed and fell again. What a premonition!
“It was one of the saddest days of my youth when we learned of that terrible crash that took his life, and the first time I cried over the loss of a performer. Odd that one of the final releases during his short lifetime was ‘It Doesn't Matter Anymore.’”
Chris Darrow: I saw Ritchie Valens a month before his death in Pomona at the Rainbow Gardens, an all-wooden building, with a low ceiling that was just south of the YMCA in Pomona, California. It later was to burn to the ground.
“I was from a mixed race white and Hispanic neighborhood in Claremont, called Arbol Verde. My best friend Roger Palos was Mexican, and he and I were both learning to play guitar and we would sing together a lot. The songs that we learned that were not from the folk music genre, were popular songs mainly by Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Ritchie Valens. For some reason our favorite song of Ritchie’s was not ‘La Bamba’ or ‘Oh, Donna’ but ‘Hi – Tone.’ We just loved that song.
“I was 15 and in the ninth grade and was not allowed to go out many places by myself at night. I was attending a private school in Claremont, called Webb, which had sons of famous people in my class. Chris Mitchum, son of Robert, Chris Reynolds, his father owned the L.A. Angels professional baseball team, Tom Mitchell, whose father invented the Mitchell 35mm movie camera and Bob Washburn, whose dad was the head of 7UP.
“Since I wasn’t driving yet, it took a lot for my folks to let me go into the dark part of Pomona to see a rock ‘n’ roll show in 1959. My parents weren’t square but my mom always worried about me.
‘“I went with Roger Palos and Jon Dearborn to the concert, and it was kind of a pilgrimage for us. Since I really identified with the Mexican culture and wasn’t afraid, I couldn’t wait to see one of my main men, Ritchie Valens. After all he was only 17 and not much older than Roger and me. I wore my bright, red corduroy coat with silver buttons that my Grandma Darrow had made for me that Christmas. I also wore white bucks, white pants and red argyle socks. I looked sharp!
“I’m not sure who the house band was, but it could have been Manual and the Renegades, or the Mixtures, for they both used to be regulars at the Rainbow Gardens. I was very excited and hadn’t been to too many concerts before this.
“I listened to a lot of radio at the time and because of the heavy Mexican influence in my life, I got turned on to KDAY with Art Laboe, who would broadcast live from Scribner’s Drive-In, and Ol’ HH -Hunter Hancock- who had a great show called Harlem Matinee. These were the guys that the Mexicans listened to on the radio. I was also into KFWB, with Al Jarvis, Bill Balance and Ted Quillan, and Dick Hugg ‘Huggy Boy’ on KGFJ. He was on so late at night that I would have to listen to him under the covers of my bed in my room. So what is now called Doo-Wop was big with me, as well as the white dominated music so prevalent on major radio stations of the time. The Oldies but Goodies albums by Laboe on Original Sound were right up my alley.
“I was really into dancing at the time and had a chance to dance a few numbers with some strangers at the show. The opening act for Ritchie was Jan & Dean; possibly really Jan & Arnie. In those days no one had their own bands and acts would use house bands as their own. Either the band didn’t like Jan & Dean or they just didn’t care. Before they could get through the first song, which sounded awful, Jan stopped, ran off the stage followed by Dean, and plowed through the locked stage door and out into the night. Jan just kicked it open like some thug in a movie. I was so shocked and dumbstruck by this. They never came back.
“After the commotion died down and it was time for Ritchie to come on. He whirled in, probably from some other gig earlier that night, and I went right up next to the edge of the stage. He was a pretty big guy and loomed on-stage with a graceful power. He was not overtly hard core in his presentation but was very soulful and I ate it up. There was a tenderness and sweetness about him, even as he rocked. The house band knew his stuff and did a great job on the songs. He did ‘La Bamba’ and ‘Oh, Donna’ and even played my favorite song, ‘Hi-Tone.’
“I liken Ritchie to another L.A. guy, Eddie Cochran. Both had the soul and drive of the Sun /Clovis, New Mexico records, but they were from our own backyard. As soon as Ritchie finished, he was whisked off in a flash. There was no chance to say ‘hello’ or offer a handshake, but I was ecstatic over the event.
“The house band played on to people doing The Stomp and I was awarded a prize for being one of the five best- dressed guys of the night. A perfect end to a perfect evening.
“I read somewhere that Frank Zappa saw Ritchie in Pomona, so he was probably there, too. A month after the gig I was at school and heard about the deaths of Ritchie, Buddy and The Big Bopper. I was crushed and went off by myself and cried like a baby. It was the first time I remember crying for someone who had died. Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly were like gods to me at the time and could do no wrong. It was one of the great losses in rock and roll history.”
