Musicians and planes

Musicians and Planes

Whoever said that planes were safer than cars obviously was not a musician. Music historry is packed with names of rock n roll musicians who parished in plane crashes. The list is a long one, too long to include them all, so the focus narrows zeroing in on only a handful of natable rock stars who were lost so tradedically.



Certainly no one would be surprised to find Buddy Holley at the top of the list followed by Ritchie Vallens and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson. The trio boarded a small chartered 4-seater aircraft along with piolot, Rodger Peterson in the first hour of Febrary 3, 1959. About an hour later the little plane was caught in blizzard winds and snow. It crashed into a field just two miles from where they boarded killing all four men. "The day the music died," that's how singer/songwriter Don McLean refered to it in his hit, American Pie in 1971.





This proved to be just the beginning. History seemed to repeat itself on December 10, 1967 when bad weather again reared it's head in Trux Field, Wisconsin bringing down a craft into Lake Monona. This time fatalities included Ottis Redding and four members of his backup band the Bar-Kays. Band member Ben Cauly was the sole survivor he and bandmate James Alexander rebuilt the band having further success.



Another shot at rock n roll came in 1973. Jim Croce, Maury Muehleise, died along with four other people in Natchtoches, Louisiana.



The band Lynard Skynrd lost three members in 1977. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gains, and Steve's sister Cassie were killed at Gillsburg, Mississippi due to fuel loss..



Ricky Nelson was among six that died on New Year's Eve 1985 on their way to Dallas.in de-Kalb, Texas. Other fatalities include his soon-to-be wife Helen Blair, guitarists Patrick Woodward and Bobby Neal, Rick Iveld, the drummer, and keyboardist Andy Chapin. Road manager Donold Clark Kilpatrick and one piolot were also killed



All in all, even music can be fatal in an airplane. Those who were mentioned and not mentioned, are sadly missed.