Given Wildwoods' claim as the Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll (and unquestioned importance in pop culture/music history, regardless), I'd be remiss in not mentioning that today marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed iconic American musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson, along with pilot Roger Peterson.The tragic event was dubbed "The Day the Music Died" by Don McLean in his 1971 song "American Pie."
Holly, I believe, performed in Wildwood during the mid-late 1950s (the Surf Club rings a bell, but I might be off on that one).
I'm not certain about Valens or Richardson, but would more than welcome a history lesson from anyone out there who may be able to provide one...
(Note: I just came across a heartfelt tribute fellow musician Eddie Cochran wrote for his friends, on YouTube. Check it out here. Sadly, Cochran was also killed, in an auto accident in England, just a little more than a year after writing this song; he was only 21.)
(Note #2: Happy birthday to Paul Russo, owner and operator of Cool Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in North Wildwood. Paul, a true Doo Wop-era aficionado, was born on the very day that the music died...)
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