by Bob Hill Sr., Oreland, PA

It was sometime in the fifties when I was watchin “Bandstand’ with my older sister who was 4 years older than me. I was around 8 years old. Ritchie Valens was a guest on the show and he sang “Donna”; it was wonderful. I loved that song. After he was finished, Dick Clark began asking him some questions like what he was up to and Ritchie replied that he was going to begin a tour of the south with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. That memory has stayed fresh in my mind to this day. The loss of those unbelievablly talented young fellows several weeks later was truly one of the darkest days in music. I believe if Buddy Holly had lived, he would of been the greatest songwriters ever and Ritchie Valens was ready to break out into superstardom!