Hollywood Walk of Fame
Holly is honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame under the category of Recording. Maria Elena Holly received the award and gave honor to her late husband:
You told me that one of your dreams was to write scores for movies and make your mark in Hollywood. Well, my dear, half of your dream unfortunately did not come true, but the other half did come true with a beautiful star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Dies in airplane crash
On their wayu to Moorhead, Minnesota, the next venue in their Winter Dance Party Tour, Buddy Holly, 22, Jiles P Richardson, 28, and Ritchie Valens, 17, die in a plane crash shortly after take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa, at 0100 local time. Holly hires the single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza plane after heating problems developed on his tourbus. Reports from the scene suggest the aircraft spun out of control during a light snowstorm. The performers where thrown clear on impact. The pilot is also killed, his body was found inside the wreckage. Only the pilot’s body was found inside the wreckage as the performers were thrown clear on impact.