Statues of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper unveiled in Clear Lake
The bronze statues of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson that were unveiled Friday in front of the Surf Ballroom Music Experience Center in Clear Lake are there to show that the music didn't die.
"This tribute is long overdue," said Mayor Mark Ebeling during a ceremony attended by a large crowd who came to see the unveiling. "While their lives were tragically cut short, their music and their legacy have endured. Today, we finally give them a permanent place in the story of Clear Lake and the Surf Ballroom, where their final performance became part of music history."
The three rock 'n' roll pioneers were killed in a place crash near Clear Lake just after they performed at the Surf on Feb. 2, 1959, as part of the Winter Dance Party tour.Â
Grayson Harris, a 15-year-old from Clear Lake who is a fan of all kinds of music and a summer intern at the Surf, was the host for the unveiling ceremony for the Three Stars Statues.Â
"It may seem odd to have someone as young as I am up here, but when I was asked, I jumped at the chance," he said. "I am here to let you know how much the youth of our community appreciates all the new things here in the Surf District, and also to assure you that our generation will continue to care for this great building and its story well into the future."
Harris remembers coming to the Surf with his kindergarten classmates during the Winter Dance Party celebration held in early February of each year to learn about the music of the 1950s and the events of the night of the final performances by Holly, Valens and Richardson.Â
"Looking back now, it's incredible to be standing here today, not as a five-year-old learning the story, but as a 15-year-old honored to be a part of preserving that night permanently," he said.
Clear Lake Chamber President and CEO Stacy Doughan said the unveiling of the statues "is the perfect example of what happens when a community dreams big and then works together to make those dreams a reality."
All the recent improvements to Clear Lake's Surf District, including the addition of the MEC next door to the historic ballroom, are "something we should be really proud of," she said.Â
Ritchie Valens' sisters Connie Valens and Irma Valens Norton, as well as his brother, Mario, helped unveil the statues and gently touched the one depicting their late sibling.Â
The Valens family is from California, but Connie moved to Iowa 12 years ago. She now lives in the Lake Okoboji area.Â
She said the Surf is "like a home I've never known" and the people there have become a part of her family.
She also talked about how she was feeling homesick one day, but after visiting the ballroom when no one else was around and sitting on the stage for a while, she "went home with a happy heart."
Randy Steele from Austin, Texas, a rock 'n' roll expert who travels frequently to Clear Lake to go to the Surf, said he fell in love with the story of Holly, Valens, Richardson and the Winter Dance Party 40 years ago, but for a long time he had no desire to visit Clear Lake.Â
"I told myself I didn't want to go where they died," he said. "I want to go where they lived."Â
However, 20 years ago in Clovis, New Mexico, home of Norman Petty Studios where Holly used to record his music, he met Jeff Nicholas, Shane Cooney and Paul Stevenson, members of the board of directors for the North Iowa Cultural Center & Museum, the nonprofit organization that runs the Surf Ballroom, as well as Laurie Lietz, who was the executive director of the Surf at the time.Â
They convinced Steele to visit Clear Lake.Â
"I discovered this is actually where they (Holly, Valens and Richardson) lived. This is where they live right here," Steele said. "And I want to tell you, as a Texan, it was love at first sight, and to be a part of the advisory board on the new MEC and on these statues, what an honor it's been."
Steele also told the crowd to also remember Roger Peterson of Clear Lake, the pilot of the plane carrying Holly, Valens and Richardson, who also lost his life in the 1959 crash.Â
Peterson "was a husband. He was a son, a brother, and a friend, and all of those titles are as important as rock 'n' roll star," Steele said.Â
The crowd was encouraged to attend Three Stars Tribute concert scheduled for the Surf on Friday evening. The performers included Pat Boone, Mario Valens, Jimmy Angel, "Sting" Ray Anthony, Ernie Reyes, Sha Na Na's "Downtown" Michael Brown, and Jason Gutierrez & The JG3.
The concert was followed by a sock hop featuring live music by The Whitesidewalls.Â
