Young people throughout the Midwest turned out in 1959 to hear Buddy Holly and the Crickets, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts as they toured with the Winter Dance Party. Fans raved: “It was crazy, daddy! … If you haven’t heard them, you haven’t lived, man!”
Tragically, on Feb. 3, 1959, Valens, Holly, and Richardson finished a show, then boarded a chartered plane to their next venue. They never made it, and for many listeners, that was the day the music died.
The new Winter Dance Party
On April 10, three extraordinary gentlemen will re-create that remarkable final performance of those three rock legends at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande.
Breathing life into the men who were the rocks rock and roll was built on are John Mueller, the innovator and driving force of the new Winter Dance Party and who channels Buddy Holly in a performance that’s like climbing into a time machine. Ray Anthony rocks Ritchie Valens like no one else can, and Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr., is the image and voice of his late father whom fans knew as the Big Bopper.
They have toured the United States and Europe since 1999 and even played the Palladium in London, one of the original places Holly played.
The men who make the music live again
In 1999, the 40th anniversary of Holly’s death, Mueller thought it would be neat to tour and see if there were any fans who still appreciated Holly’s music.
“We had 1,000 fans turn up on a Monday night at the Surf Ballroom in Wisconsin, and I thought: We are on to something,” he said.
The Winter Dance Party was back. Richardson, Jr. joined in 2000.
“He just called me out of the blue and said he’d like to tour,” Mueller said. “I thought someone from the actual bloodline would be a nice element for the show. Ray Anthony (no relation to the bandleader of the same name) contacted me in 2001 and sent me a videotape, and it just blew me away. He’s been with us ever since.”
Mueller, Richardson, and Anthony have met Maria Elena Holly, Buddy’s wife: “She has been a great endorser of our show,” Mueller said. “We’re lucky because she can get pretty feisty about others who don’t come up to snuff.”
Mueller’s back-up group includes his brother George on lead guitar. (“He has real great sensibility for ’50s music and plays it authentically,” Mueller said.) Grammy Award-winner Mike DaCosta plays a mean sax, and Canadian Ed Maxwell slaps an authentic 1950s standup bass. Drummer Gerry Angel of the Blasters will be joining the tour in Arroyo Grande.
Last year, Mueller performed songs Holly never had the chance to produce with an orchestra.
“I do a little medley of his apartment songs, about six songs he recorded on a reel-to-reel with his guitar in his apartment prior to his tour,” Mueller said. “Buddy was working on songs like ‘What to Do’ and ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ before he died, and they weren’t fully fleshed out yet.
“I feel that I’ve been able to experience Buddy’s success more than he ever did. For 10 years, I’ve seen the impact he had,” Mueller continued. “I sometimes feel a little guilty and sad about that.”
Still boppin’ along
Jiles Perry Richardson was a Texas radio announcer best remembered for his hit song “Chantilly Lace.” You don’t need to hear a note to recognize it, just “Bbrring-bbrring” followed by a throaty bass greeting of “Hellooo, Baby!” and you know it’s the man loved by fans as the Big Bopper. His son revealed how much more there was to his father, saying “J.P. Richardson belongs to his family, but the Big Bopper belongs to the world.”
“Performing with the Winter Dance Party is always great,” Richardson said. “I’ve had grown men hugging me and crying after the show. It’s very emotional for me.
“Growing up, I learned about my dad mostly from my grandparents,” he continued. “My mother never quit loving my father and it was just too painful for her to talk about. But I was 28 when I first made a trip to the Surf Ballroom and met people and heard stories about how he influenced people.”
The songs “Purple People Eater” and “Witch Doctor” were popular back then, and the elder Richardson wrote a comeback: “The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor.” For a flip side, he ad-libbed a song he called “You Know What I Like” in the recording studio. “Chantilly Lace” was born. He also cut four country-western songs for Mercury Records, including “White Lightning” and “Running Bear,” both of which he wrote.
A few years ago, Richardson agreed to have his father’s gravesite and that of his mother moved to allow for an above ground memorial to his dad, and he had his father autopsied.
“Buddy Holly had a gun, given to him by Tommy Allsup, which was found at the site of the crash by a farmer who said he fired the gun three times to see if it worked,” Richardson said. “Because of this, rumors started that Buddy lost his mind and shot three of the people in that plane.
“When I disinterred Dad, I had an opportunity to put this rumor to rest,” Richardson continued.
He explained that a forensic anthropologist and full-body x-ray helped to bring closure 48 years after never knowing his father, since he was born after his father’s death.
“You want to talk about going full circle,” he said softly. “My kids were pall bearers when we re-interred him, and it was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve shared with my family. Who knew 48 years after his death someone up there knew this would happen and made sure I would still see my Dad because he had kept himself in such good shape just for me.
“I did most of the talking that day, but Dad and I communicated, and I couldn’t have more resolve about what I’m doing than the day before I saw him,” he summed up. “The bottom line is what I do is about Dad. I have the opportunity to get Dad the recognition he deserves.”
Let’s go, let’s go!
Richie Valenzuela was only 16 when Del-Fi record producer Bob Keane discovered him and changed his name to Ritchie Valens. Famous for songs like “Come On, Let’s Go” and “Donna,” Valens gave an old Mexican standard a rock and roll twist and “La Bamba” earned the teenager an appearance on American Bandstand.
Anthony, who portrays Valens, started listening to rock and roll at age 13, but he never dreamed of making a living as an entertainer, something he’s been doing now for 30 years.
“I write original songs and perform ’50s and ’60s rock and roll as Stingray Anthony in Stingray’s Rock and Roll Review when I’m not touring with the Winter Dance Party,” he said. “Fabian gave me the ‘sting’ in the name.
“When the film La Bamba came out in 1987, people mistook me for Lou Diamond Phillips (who played Valens) so I went to see the movie. I quickly realized that I’d better learn the words to ‘La Bamba.’ I performed as Valens with Legends in Concert in Las Vegas for about 10 years before joining the Winter Dance Party. I’ll just keep going until it stops. It’s tough to play a 17-year-old kid, you know, but I love doing it.”
Valens was called the Little Richard of San Fernando Valley, Anthony said.
“He had his own style and didn’t sound like anyone else at the time,” Anthony said. “He needed time to develop that. He had some great songs, cut one album, then passed away, so he gets marginalized sometimes. This is why I carry on his legacy.”
“We’ve met a lot of great people who care about this music very much,” Mueller
commented.
“We appreciate the fans, and as long as I’m alive I’m going to keep rockin’ and rollin’,” Anthony added.
“You are talking about the beginning of rock and roll and the guys who laid the foundation for rock and roll,” Richardson said. “Good music is good music, I don’t care how old it is. We’ve met a lot of great people and a lot of people care about this music very much. Plus, we are more than friends, we’re family. We are the Winter Dance Party.”
Ariel Waterman’s fondest memories have a soundtrack filled with Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens songs. Share your back flashes via her editor, Ryan Miller, at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 8-15, 2010.