The Day the Music Died Events at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock

February 3rd, 2015, marks the 56th anniversary of the Winter Dance Party Tour flight that claimed the lives of Ritchie Valens, J.P. Richardson – better known as the The Big Bopper – and Lubbock’s own Buddy Holly.

The plane carrying the three rock musicians crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959 along with pilot Roger Peterson.

The event has become known as, “The Day the Music Died” as popularized by a lyric in Don McLean’s song, American Pie.

The Buddy Holly Center in downtown Lubbock will open their doors free of charge from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3, in remembrance of the musicians and their lasting legacy.

The center will also open the J.I. Allison House free of charge until 4:30. Allison was the Crickets’ drummer and a co-writer with Holly.

Museum Curator Jacqueline Bober will also lead guided trolley tours of sites significant to Holly beginning at 1:30 and 3 p.m.