"The Buddy Holly Story" vs. "La Bamba," or, the Battle of Cinematic Representations of the Day the Music Died

why didn't the Big Bopper get a biopic? Did he lead a really really dull life or something?

I like how Big Bopper's entire character in La Bamba is pretty much just him going "Hellllllooo baaaaaaaby!" in the two scenes he was in.

I remember liking The Buddy Holly Story a lot but I'll have to see it again.

there's a soundtrack, you know

Kids In The Hall's take on the subject.

The documentary The Real Buddy Holly Story, produced by Sir Paul McCartney and featuring interviews with Jerry "J.I." Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Sonny Curtis, Tommy Allsop, Keith Richards and The Everly Brothers, is awesome.

We were just watching The Buddy Holly Story last night.

Loved how as the Winter Party '59 bus is leaving New York, Buddy jokes about showing off nude pictures of his wife to the other musicians. Then, off-camera, you hear the Big Bopper go "Oh baby that's a'what I like!"

Poor old JP Richardson.

You gotsta watch The Real Buddy Story now. I watched Tommy Allsop tell the story of the coin flip and the wallet on three separate occasions and it gave me chills every time.

Son Jay P. Richardson took up a musical career inspired by his late father and is known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr." He has performed at venues around the world. Notably, he has toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the very same stages as his father.

On January 17, 2007 it was reported that Jay, his son, wanted an autopsy of his father in order to settle the rumor whether a gun was fired, or that Richardson survived the crash initially [2].

The autopsy was performed by Dr. Bill Bass, a well-known forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His findings indicated there were no signs of foul play. He was quoted as saying "There are fractures from head to toe. Massive fractures. ... (He) died immediately. He didn't crawl away. He didn't walk away from the plane."[3]

Jay was present with Dr. Bass throughout the entire autopsy and observed as the casket was opened; both men were surprised to find the remains preserved enough to be recognizable as those of the late rock star. "Dad still amazes me 48 years after his death, that he was in remarkable shape," Richardson told the Associated Press. "I surprised myself. I handled it better than I thought I would."[3]

Poor Hawkshaw Hawkins.

ok -- I LOVED La Bamba when I was a kid, it totally changed my life and I bought the soundtrack twice
but it was truly next level awesome when I was teaching my class tonight and all of my students except one had seen it, and they also knew/loved the original "La Bamba"
somehow i managed to listen to the song without crying and we even discussed the appeal of Bob even though he was clearly a damaged asshole

La Bamba forever, I don't care how bad Lou Diamond Phillips performance was. I am glad this movie was made. Haven't seen The Buddy Holly Story tbh

La Bamba heading to Criterion -- nice extras:

https://www.criterion.com/films/33769-la-bamba

Oooh! That’s exciting. I still love La Bamba ❤️

he is one of the best things about that show Longmire!

I didn't realize the Surf Ballroom was still around and operating as a venue, though perhaps not surprisingly they book a very modest number of shows. Besides a monument outside its entrance with everyone's name carved on it, there's been a winter dance every year since 1979 in memory of that fateful day. In terms of anything else of interest, Steve Earle's playing there on Friday, June 27.

Oh wow! Would attend with relish. I also happen to love Steve Earle.

I was listening to a Buddy Holly segment on the radio yesterday. I always thought of him as sort of the second wave of important founders, a year or two after Chuck Berry, Elvis, etc., but found out his first show was opening for Bill Haley in 1955.