On February 18, 1959 the small plane carrying Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), and Ritchie Valens crashed killing all on board. Songwriter, Tommy Dee, wrote the song Three Stars which was subsequently performed by Eddie Cochran in memory of his 3 fallen peers:
Three Stars in Heaven
Look up in the sky, up towards the north
There are three new stars, brightly shining forth
They're shining oh-so bright from heaven above
Gee, we're gonna miss you, everybody sends their love
Ritchie, you were just starting to realise your dreams
Everyone calls me a kid, but you were only seventeen
Now Almighty God has called you, from oh-so far away
Maybe it's to save some boy or girl
Who might have gone astray
And with your star shining through the dark and lonely night
To light the path and show the way, the way that's right
Gee, we're gonna miss you, everybody sends their love
Buddy, I can still see you, with that shy grin on your face
Seems like your hair was always a little messed up
and kinda outa place
Now, not many people actually knew you or
understood how you felt
But just a song, just a song from you
could make the coldest heart melt
Well you're singing for God now, in his chorus in the sky
Buddy Holly, I'll always remember you with tears in my eyes
Gee, we're gonna miss you, everybody sends their love
I see a stout man, the Big Bopper's your name
God called you to heaven, maybe for new fortune and fame
Keep wearing that big Stetson hat and ramble up to the mike
And don't forget those wonderful words, you know what I like
Look up in the sky, up towards the north
There are three new stars, brightly shining forth
They' re shining oh—so bright from heaven above
Gee, we're gonna miss you, everybody sends their love
The cruel irony of this is that, on his way to Heathrow airport at the conclusion of his tour of England, the limo carrying Duane Eddy, Eddie Cochran, and Eddie's girlfriend crashed. Cochran, age 21, was killed, and Duane Eddy suffered a serious leg injury that led to a gimp he still suffers from today. Cochran became the “4th star” in heaven, just over a year after Holly, Valens, and Richardson were taken from us.
While Cochran has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his songs have been covered by the likes of The Who, Brian Setzer, Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Faces, and the Sex Pistols to name a few—he’s not really been given the same level of attention as some of his peers and contemporaries.
The British Invasion was a reaction from “across the pond” to our very own homegrown talents like Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley—On Cochran’s one and only British tour, a young George Harrison would lie about his age to get into Cochran’s shows, and a young Paul McCartney got into a certain band-- The Quarrymen-- on his ability to play and sing Cochran’s Twenty Flight Rock—and while the bands and musicians they inspired—The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, etc. etc. are well respected within the pantheon of classic rock history. Guys like Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, Duane Eddy, The Big Bopper remain mere cultural footnotes.
I’m not saying the likes of the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, et. al. don’t deserve credit for their musical accomplishments—they certainly do. And maybe it was the brevity of their lives and careers, but the forebears of the British “musical pioneers” American music fans and critics cream their jeans over have not stood the test of time near as well as the bands that they inspired. Isn’t it about time these guys finally got the level of respect they so richly and rightly deserve?
1 comment:
A small, but very important, correction. Gene Vincent was riding in the car with Eddie Cochran and his girlfriend Sharon Sheely when the tragic car crash occurred.
Duane Eddy was touring in England at the same time, however, not with Eddie and Gene.
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