The Daily History Chronicle

On February 3rd, 1959, a plane crash in Iowa killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, which we now call "The Day the Music Died." But the real story involves a failed bus heater, a coin flip that haunted a man for decades, and a pregnant wife who learned of her husband's death from the television. Richard Backus explores how a random tragedy became rock and roll mythology, and what we lose when our legends obscure the human cost.