Inductee: Ritchie Valens (vocals, guitar; born May 13, 1941, died February 3, 1959)
In the course of his short life, Ritchie Valens left a lasting impact on rock and roll with the classic rocker “La Bamba.”
Valens was born Richard Steven Valenzuela in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacoima. He grew up surrounded by Mexican music, but he also intently cocked an ear to black R&B vocal groups like the Crows, the Penguins and the Drifter. He also loved Little Richard (and was known as the “Little Richard of the San Fernando Valley”), Bo Diddley and Buddy Holly.
Valens learned how to play guitar and joined a local dance band, the Silhouettes, at sixteen. In May 1958, he auditioned for Del-Fi label owner Bob Keane, who spotted his raw talent. Under Keane’s direction, Valens cut a few sessions at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. His debut single, “Come On, Let’s Go,” was a spirited rocker that barely missed the Top 40. Valens’ second session produced “Donna” and “La Bamba,” rush-released as a single after a deejay played an acetate of “Donna” on KFWB, Los Angeles’ biggest station. The song was a sweet, simple love song for a girl he knew at San Fernando High. Many years later, rock critic Lester Bangs called it “one of the classic teen loves ballads.” With “Donna” rising in the national charts, Valens made a promotional trip to New York in late December 1958, where he appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and Alan Freed’s Christmas Show.
Though “Donna” made Valens a star, it was “La Bamba” that would become most closely identified with the young Mexican-American rocker. “La Bamba” was a popular huapango – a Mexican fiesta dance song - that he learned from his cousin. Valens put a rock and roll spin on this spirited folk tune, juicing it up with garage-rock riffing and a raw, enthusiastic solo. In essence, he invented Latino rock with this two-minute rock and roll classic.
The budding star was on a fast track when he embarked on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party bus tour of the Midwest in late January 1959. When headliner Buddy Holly chartered a plane to fly from Iowa, to the next date in Faro, North Dakota, Valens flipped a coin with guitarist Tommy Allsop to see who would get the last seat. Valens won the toss and boarded the small aircraft, which took off in the early hours of February 3, 1959. Minutes later it crashed in a cornfield, claiming the lives of Valens, Holly, J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper") and the pilot. Valens, who was only 17 years old, left behind a small but influential body of work.
TIMELINE
May 13, 1941: Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known as Ritchie Valens, is born in Los Angeles.
October 19, 1957: A sixteen-year-old Ritchie Valens makes his performing debut with a nine-piece group called the Silhouettes.
June 9, 1958: Ritchie Valens’ first single, “Come On, Let’s Go,” is released on the Del-Fi label.
October 14, 1958: One of the greatest singles of the rock and roll era, “Donna” b/w “La Bamba,” by Ritchie Valens – is released. “Donna” is a teen love ballad, while “La Bamba” is a Latin-spiced garage rocker.
December 16, 1958: Ritchie Valens performs a concert at the junior high school he’d attended. The show is recorded and posthumously released in 1960 as Ritchie Valens Live at Pacoima Junior High.
February 3, 1959: At the age of 17, Ritchie Valens is killed in a plane crash, along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
December 31, 1961: A Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert is held at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, in Long Beach, California. On the bill are the youthful Beach Boys, making one of their earliest appearances.
July 6, 1987: The popular film biography of Ritchie Valens, ‘La Bamba,’ opens nationally. Lou Diamond Phillips is cast in the lead role, and Los Lobos’ soundtrack recording of “La Bamba” becomes a 1 hit.
Many Thanks To Carlos Almanza for making this profile for Ritchie Valens.
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