Behind the Music

Episode Synopsis

It was the end of an era, the end of an innocence for rock and roll. - Lou Diamond Phillips.Three of rock and roll's most influential stars of the 1950's were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, a date immortalized by songwriter Don McLean in his haunting rock elegy as "the day the music died." This was rock and roll's first and greatest tragedy, and "The Day The Music Died: Behind The Music" examines not only the careers of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper but the day that led to their untimely deaths. "The Day The Music Died: Behind The Music" premieres on February 3, the 40th anniversary of the tragic plane crash. Included are interviews with Lou Diamond Phillips, who portrayed Valens in "La Bamba," Gary Busey, who played Holly in "The Buddy Holly Story," Don McLean, writer and singer of "The Day The Music Died" and Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup, who might have been on the plane themselves. In addition, the historic story is captured with eyewitness accounts of those who lived it, including Valens' "Donna" and Holly's "Peggy Sue." Carroll Anderson, the man who drove the musicians to the airport, recounts his last moments with them, and Bob Hale, the DJ at their last performance, describes a touching moment with The Big Bopper that gave his then unborn son, Jay Richardson, insight into his father's love for his family.