Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

February is short but incredibly rich with music history. But the month that gave us the arrival of The Beatles in the U.S. is the same month that five years earlier produced one of the worst tragedies in American music. On February 3, 1959 a plane crash in Iowa ended the lives of Buddy Holly, 21; Jiles Perry (J.P.) Richardson, a/k/a “The Big Bopper”, 28 and Ritchie Valens, 17. The cause of the crash remains undetermined to this day and also killed the pilot, Roger Peterson.

After six decades, countless documentaries, movies, books and plays celebrating the lives of each musician’s contribution to music & their enduring legacy, there is nothing I can add here that will offer a different insight to these talented three men. And in some ways no one has since Don McLean’s 1971 masterpiece, “American Pie” where he immortalized the devastating event as “The Day the Music Died”. For a refresher on the lives of two of the three artists I recommend two bio-pics: 1978’s “The Buddy Holly Story” & 1987’s “La Bamba”. Or just YouTube the music & historical footage. It is worth it to see all three men as they should be remembered when often times it is how they died which remains most notable.

There are many songs to choose from to mark this sad anniversary. This year I chose one by the youngest singer on the plane, Valens. His career was still so new he only released singles while he was alive. The first one was “Come On, Let’s Go”, then “Donna” (about his high school girlfriend) and then today’s song. I still find it astounding that in 1958 when rock & roll was still very much in its infancy, a reworked Mexican folk song about a dance sung in Spanish by a relatively unknown teenage performer became a hit. We can never underestimate the power of music.

“Yo no soy marinero
Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan
Soy capitan, soy capitan
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba, bamba“.

Translation:

“I’m not a sailor
I’m not a sailor, I’m a captain
I’m a captain, I’m a captain
Bamba, bamba
bamba, bamba
 bamba, bamba, bamba“.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Ritchie Valens: “La Bamba” (1958, written by Ritchie Valens based on a traditional Mexican folk song).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.