Radically Retired

Tag: American Pie

  • The Day the Music Died

    The Day the Music Died

    Two days ago, hubs and I made another bucket list hit.

    We visited Clear Lake, Iowa where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) played their last concert before they were all killed in a fatal plane crash just a few miles out of Clear Lake.

    After watching the documentary about Don McLean’s song, “American Pie”, (titled the same as this blog post), we knew we could drive a new route to be sure to visit the Surf (feature photo) and the memorial site in the farmer’s field that has been maintained since the crash on Feb 3, 1959. The memorial is about 3 miles from town.

    Because I was introduced to 50’s R&R from the time I was around four years old (by my aunt, who was a teenager at the time), the whole day was powerfully meaningful for me.

    This immersive experience building just opened in September and is very well done
    Not Fade Away is a 360° experience about the history of rock and roll music at the Surf
    The museum in the new building houses many great photos and artifacts
    Buddy Holly’s jacket and mic from the last performance of his life
    If you love music, you’d love the Surf Ballroom
    This is the adjacent lounge. The number of artists from every genre of music who have played here is staggering
    The stage and dance floor of the surf. I felt like I had stepped into history
    The booths and tables were numerous
    Enough seating for 2100 people here and another 160 in the lounge
    Standing on that stage for a selfie was an emotional moment for me
    The green room next to the stage. Every entertainer who has played there has signed
    Hubs found the booths a tad snug
    The streets in Clear Lake are named in tribute
    This is the parking lot for the memorial site
    The glasses mark the beginning of the walk to the memorial site. People leave glasses as a tribute. I left a pair of sunglasses
    It’s a quarter mile walk through a field to the memorial
    Memorial to the pilot of the plane
    The memorial to the artists is simple and still very powerful
    This will no doubt be my only visit to a memorial in a corn field
    It was a windy day, and I was quite sombre because of the experience