BUDDY - THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY BACKSTAGE GUIDE 17 ABOUT RITCHIE VALENS Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known as Ritchie Valens, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Valens' recording career lasted only eight months, but during this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958,making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. Valens was born Richard Steven Valenzuela in Pacoima, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. He was of Mexican descent, and was brought up hearing traditional Mexican mariachi music, as well as flamenco guitar, R&B, and jump blues. Valenzuela expressed an interest in making music of his own by the age of five, and he was encouraged by his father to take up guitar and trumpet, and later taught himself the drums. When he was 16 years old, he was invited to join a local band as a guitarist, and when the main vocalist left the group, Valenzuela assumed the position. Bob Keane, the owner and president of small record label Del-Fi Records, was given a tip in May 1958 about a young performer from Pacoima by the name of Richard Valenzuela. Kids knew the performer as "the Little Richard of San Fernando". Swayed by the Little Richard comparison, Keane went to see Valenzuela play a Saturday morning matinée at a movie theater in San Fernando. Impressed by the performance, he invited the youth to audition at his home, where he had a small recording studio in his basement. After this first audition, Keane signed Ritchie to Del-Fi. At this point, the musician took the name "Ritchie" because, as Keane said, "There were a bunch of 'Richards' around at that time, and I wanted it to be different." Keane also recommended shortening his surname to "Valens" from Valenzuela. The first songs recorded at Gold Star Studios, at a single studio session one afternoon in July 1958, were "Come On, Let's Go” and "Framed". Pressed and released within days of the recording session, the record was a success. Valens's next record—the final record to be released in his lifetime—had the song "Donna" (written about a real girlfriend) coupled with "La Bamba". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. By the autumn of 1958, the demands of Valens' career forced him to drop out of high school. Keane booked appearances at venues across the county and performances on television programs. Valens had a fear of flying due to a freak accident at his junior high school when two airplanes collided over the playground, killing or injuring several of his friends. However, he eventually overcame his fear enough to travel by airplane for his career. He appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show on October 6, 1958, where he sang "Come On, Let's Go", and returned to perform “Donna” on December 27, 1958. In early 1959, Valens was traveling the Midwest on a multiple-act tour dubbed "The Winter Dance Party". On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa along with Buddy Holly, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was on the plane because he won a coin toss with Holly's backup guitarist Tommy Allsup. At 17, Valens was the youngest to die in the crash. Ritchie Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Ritchie Valens (edited from Wikipedisa.org)