Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens was an influential early rock'n'roll musician, and the first Latino rocker to gain success in the mainstream. He authored the hits "Donna", "Come On, Let's Go" and his signature song, "La Bamba." Sadly, his career lasted only a brief eight months. Valens died on February 3, 1959 at the age of 17, along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper in an Iowa plane crash.

Fast Facts

Birth Name: Richard Steven Valenzuela
Birth: May 13, 1941
Death: February 3, 1959
Origin: Pacoima, California
Record Label: Del-Fi Records

Influence

Though his hits are among the most enduring and respected of the 1950s, Valens major legacy is having been the first nationally successful Latino rock musician. In this regard, he was a major influence on 1960s bands like Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and Question Mark and the Mysterians, as well as later acts Santana, Los Lobos, The Zeros and Los Lonely Boys.

Recorded Work

Unlike Holly, whose store of studio outtakes continued to be released up through the 1970s, Valens' catalog of studio recordings was mostly released by the time of his death. One would get a very different impression from the many Valens anthologies available, but most of them reprise the same songs, in one form or another. Aside from his original 1959 self-titled LP, Valens' material has included one live album (In Concert At Pacoima Junior High) and a handful of outtakes and demos.

Categories

Entertainment | Music | Rock | Oldies

| View Note History

Also try: La Bamba Lyrics

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: Ritchie Valens
Wikipedia: Ritchie Valens | The Day the Music Died
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Ritchie Valens
Biography: Ritchie Valens
Video: "La Bamba" (Time: 2:54)
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IMDb: Ritchie Valens Filmography

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Dailymotion: "Ooh My Head" (Time: 1:04)
YouTube: "Come On, Let's Go" (Time: 2:00)
YouTube: "We Belong Together" (Time: 2:00)
YouTube: "Donna" Live (Time: 2:48)

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Similar Artists

Related Pages on Mahalo

La Bamba Lyrics | Buddy Holly | The Big Bopper | Roy Orbison | Chuck Berry | Carl Perkins | Los Lobos | Eddie Cochran | Little Richard | Elvis Presley | Jerry Lee Lewis | The Everly Brothers | Gene Vincent | Dion | Del Shannon | Chubby Checker | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | Ricky Nelson | Fats Domino | Bill Haley

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