Arts and Entertainment

The mother of rock star Ritchie Valens has died.

One of the earliest and most promising stars was Ritchie Valens.While still just a teenager, he emerged as a pop music titan, combining a voice that was at turns peppy with a preternatural talent for playing the guitar with precision and speed."Come On, Let's Go," "Donna," and "La Bamba" were three of Valens' most popular singles.Valens is one of music's biggest "what could have been" stories, as he died at age 17 while still a rising success.He didn't have a lot of time to record, but what he did make would cement his status as an American musical legend.There is a look into the life of Ritchie Valens.

Valens is one of music's biggest "what could have been" stories, as he died at age 17 while still a rising success.He didn't have a lot of time to record, but what he did make would cement his status as an American musical legend.There is a look into the life of Ritchie Valens.

The smash hits "La Bamba" and "Donna" were scored by Ritchie Valens when he was just 17 years old, and feature his virtuoso-level guitar playing and classic crooner-style voice.Valens had a bit of musical experience before he was proficient and successful at such a young age.After learning to play several instruments as a child, Valens fell in love with playing the guitar most of all, and he mastered a standard model built for a right-handed player.Absorbing the wild stylings of early rock n' roll, including rockabilly artists and Little Richard, along with traditional and folk forms he gleaned from his Mexican-American family, he synthesised his influences and landed a position as the guitarist in a local garage rock band called the SilhouettesValens was the group's lead singer.

After learning to play several instruments as a child, Valens fell in love with playing the guitar most of all, and he mastered a standard model built for a right-handed player.Absorbing the wild stylings of early rock n' roll, including rockabilly artists and Little Richard, along with traditional and folk forms he gleaned from his Mexican-American family, he synthesised his influences and landed a position as the guitarist in a local garage rock band called the SilhouettesValens was the group's lead singer.

The teenager with the short but storied career in the late 1950s is known internationally and throughout history as Ritchie Valens, but that is not the performer's real name.His parents were Mexican-American and he was born in the San Fernando Valley.Valens had little choice but to play by the music industry's unofficial whitewashing rules because he came to prominence in the 1950s when the cultural landscape was dominated by performers of Caucasian and European background.Bob Keane, the producer who discovered Valens, then signed him to his own label, Del-fi, and then talked the singer into shortening his name to Ritchie.It was an angle and a perspective that most other prospective rock stars of the era couldn't claim when it came to Valens' Mexican heritage.Valens recorded a rock n' roll version of "La Bamba," a Mexican folk song he'd been playing on the guitar since he was a child.According to the Los Angeles Times, a family friend named Dickie Cota taught Valens how to play the guitar, but he was not proficient in Spanish."Ritchie never spoke in Spanish because his dad never did," his mother said.

It was an angle and a perspective that most other prospective rock stars of the era couldn't claim when it came to Valens' Mexican heritage.Valens recorded a rock n' roll version of "La Bamba," a Mexican folk song he'd been playing on the guitar since he was a child.According to the Los Angeles Times, a family friend named Dickie Cota taught Valens how to play the guitar, but he was not proficient in Spanish."Ritchie never spoke in Spanish because his dad never did," his mother said.

In 2000, bigwigs in the music industry voted to induct the late Ritchie Valens into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.On paper, Valens wasn't much of a commercial success, but his impact on 20th century American music was profound and incalculable.He didn't have a lot of time to rack up a string of hits, he died in 1959 after releasing his first recordings.Valens was not one of the most prolific hitmakers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to the sad circumstances of his death.His debut, "Come On Let's Go," peaked just outside the top 40 in the late 1960's, while "La Bamba" peaked at No.Two days before Valens died, on Feb. 1, 1959.The English-language love song, "Donna," was Valens' biggest hit.Two weeks after he died.In 1959 there were two more minor hits, "That's My Little Suzie" and "Little Girl".

Valens was not one of the most prolific hitmakers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to the sad circumstances of his death.His debut, "Come On Let's Go," peaked just outside the top 40 in the late 1960's, while "La Bamba" peaked at No.Two days before Valens died, on Feb. 1, 1959.The English-language love song, "Donna," was Valens' biggest hit.Two weeks after he died.In 1959 there were two more minor hits, "That's My Little Suzie" and "Little Girl".

"La Bamba" is not an original work by Valens.He came up with an energetic, highly crafted single of the 1950s early rock n' roll sound."La Bamba" is a piece of folk music from the Mexican state of Veracruz.A son is a musical form that combines many traditional styles.One day in front of his manager, Valens played a song he learned as a child on his guitar.He was in the backseat strumming his guitar.I heard this melody and thought it would make a great rock record.Initially, Keane didn't think a Spanish song could be a hit, nor did Valens want to turn it into a rock song.He thought it would be a good idea to translate it into English, but he realized there were more than 500 words of "La Bamba" to address.He recorded the song in Spanish with a rock n' roll arrangement."La Bamba" was the first rock hit with Latin American origins.

One day in front of his manager, Valens played a song he learned as a child on his guitar.He was in the backseat strumming his guitar.I heard this melody and thought it would make a great rock record.

Initially, Keane didn't think a Spanish song could be a hit, nor did Valens want to turn it into a rock song.He thought it would be a good idea to translate it into English, but he realized there were more than 500 words of "La Bamba" to address.He recorded the song in Spanish with a rock n' roll arrangement."La Bamba" was the first rock hit with Latin American origins.

In 1959 Ritchie Valens had two very successful singles.The folk/rock fusion song "La Bamba" was sung in Spanish."Donna," a sweetly crooned teen-iDOL type love song, was performed in English and suitable for slow-dancing.Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" is one of the pop music songs named after women.Donna Ludwig is a real person that Valens dated before he became a rock star.According to The Washington Post, Valens put the song together and sang it to Ludwig after they ended their relationship.Although the general public didn't know the song was about Donna until after Valens died, he was telling the truth when he said he had once had a girl named Donna.Ludwig received 8,000 letters a week after an entertainment magazine published her address.Elvis asked her out on a date so that he could talk to her ex-boyfriend, and a group called the Kittens recorded a song about her called "Letter to Donna."

According to The Washington Post, Valens put the song together and sang it to Ludwig after they ended their relationship.Although the general public didn't know the song was about Donna until after Valens died, he was telling the truth when he said he had once had a girl named Donna.Ludwig received 8,000 letters a week after an entertainment magazine published her address.Elvis asked her out on a date so that he could talk to her ex-boyfriend, and a group called the Kittens recorded a song about her called "Letter to Donna."

Much of the knowledge on the late rock star comes from the movie La Bamba, which was released in 1987.The film took a few liberties in regards to Valens' romantic life, according to The Washington Post.In the film, Valens is in love with Donna Ludwig and records a song in her honor.Valens' relatives and the musician's manager didn't know her very well."Ritchie said he'd written a song for Donna, but I never heard anything else about her."Ludwig claims that she and Valens had broken up long before he became famous, allowing him to indulge in the more carnal elements of the rock n' roll lifestyle.According to Valens biographer Beverly Mandheim, the musician cavorted with young women during a brief tour of Hawaii, and a New York-based woman claimed to be his fiancée at his funeral.

Ludwig claims that she and Valens had broken up long before he became famous, allowing him to indulge in the more carnal elements of the rock n' roll lifestyle.According to Valens biographer Beverly Mandheim, the musician cavorted with young women during a brief tour of Hawaii, and a New York-based woman claimed to be his fiancée at his funeral.

"Come On, Let's Go," "Donna," and "La Bamba" were some of the singles that catapulted Ritchie Valens to fame.He was invited to appear on "The Winter Dance Party," a rock package tour that also featured J.P. Richardson.Buddy Holly, best known for "That'll Be the Day" and "Oh Boy!", had a hit with "The Big Bopper."The group of musicians traveled to play 24 small venues around the Midwest in just about as many days because the tour bus they traveled in was prone to break down.After a February 2 show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly, sick with the flu, chartered a small plane for a quick and comfortable trip to Fargo, N.D., near the next concert site in Moorhead, Minn.Two of the aircraft's four seats were occupied by Roger and Holly, and the other two were intended for Waylon and Tommy.Richardson had a cold and talked Jennings into letting him take the flight instead of sitting through a miserable, freezing bus ride, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens.The plane was supposed to go to Minnesota.A few minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and crashed into an Iowa field.Valens was one of the four people who died.

The group of musicians traveled to play 24 small venues around the Midwest in just about as many days because the tour bus they traveled in was prone to break down.After a February 2 show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly, sick with the flu, chartered a small plane for a quick and comfortable trip to Fargo, N.D., near the next concert site in Moorhead, Minn.Two of the aircraft's four seats were occupied by Roger and Holly, and the other two were intended for Waylon and Tommy.Richardson had a cold and talked Jennings into letting him take the flight instead of sitting through a miserable, freezing bus ride, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens.

The plane was supposed to go to Minnesota.A few minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and crashed into an Iowa field.Valens was one of the four people who died.

In 1959 a small plane crash in Iowa claimed the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.Valens avoided an airplane-related death two years prior.Valens was a student at Pacoima Junior High School, which sat under a flight path.One of the planes crashed into the junior high's grounds after colliding mid-air.There were three deaths and 90 injuries that day.Valens was absent from school that day to attend his grandfather's funeral.Bob Valenzuela said in a retrospective about the film La Bamba that his brother would have been in the playground if they hadn't gone to his grandfather's funeral."Ritchie's life was saved by the death of my grandfather."

In 1959 a small plane crash in Iowa claimed the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.Valens avoided an airplane-related death two years prior.

Valens was a student at Pacoima Junior High School, which sat under a flight path.One of the planes crashed into the junior high's grounds after colliding mid-air.There were three deaths and 90 injuries that day.Valens was absent from school that day to attend his grandfather's funeral.Bob Valenzuela said in a retrospective about the film La Bamba that his brother would have been in the playground if they hadn't gone to his grandfather's funeral."Ritchie's life was saved by the death of my grandfather."

While he didn't live long, Ritchie Valens had a huge impact on a lot of people.There are monuments and memorials dedicated to the late rock star.He died with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper when their small plane crashed into a farmer's field.The site of a guitar statue was put up in 1988, shortly after the release of La Bamba, according to Atlas Obscura.The memorial on the stretch of highway closest to where the plane made impact has a giant pair of thick glasses on top.A statue of a lost figure, along with one of the Bopper, Holly, and Valens, was unveiled in 1989.The town of Pacoima showed off a mural depicting the "La Bamba" singer in his prime.

The memorial on the stretch of highway closest to where the plane made impact has a giant pair of thick glasses on top.A statue of a lost figure, along with one of the Bopper, Holly, and Valens, was unveiled in 1989.The town of Pacoima showed off a mural depicting the "La Bamba" singer in his prime.

The 1987 film La Bamba was a hit at the box office and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Drama.1 on the pop chart.It took Hollywood more than a decade to get on board with the project.A&M Records executives inquired about Danny's next move after he released his first album, which prompted a discussion with his manager about making and starring in a movie about Ritchie Valens.Valens was a forgotten figure, and that's why the label turned it down.The project was supposed to be a stage musical, but it fell apart.After the success of his film Zoot Suit, he was given another chance at making a Valens movie, but he had to wait for permission from the musician's family.By that time, Hackford had become a major film maker.As a producer, Valdez hired his brother, Luis, to write and direct what would become La Bamba because he was too old to play Valens by that point.

A&M Records executives inquired about Danny's next move after he released his first album, which prompted a discussion with his manager about making and starring in a movie about Ritchie Valens.Valens was a forgotten figure, and that's why the label turned it down.The project was supposed to be a stage musical, but it fell apart.