Ritchie didn’t seem to mind." Students were already cheering when Hare took the mike to introduce Valens, prompting Hare to announce "No applause, just throw money if you get really excited." ...

Connie Valens wasn’t the only one who was able to use Don McLean’s “American Pie” as a way to process and cope with the grief of losing a family member.

More Sixty-six years ago today, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died when their plane crashed following a show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Books about Valens, though, have been scarce. The only biography was 1987’s “Ritchie Valens, the First Latino Rocker” by Beverly Mendheim, who struggled to turn her research into a narrative.