BUDDY  HOLLY  LIVES




RRITCHIE   VALENS'  GRAVESTONE


The  Story  Behind


Ritchie Valens on stage, WDP Tour, 1959


It began with an e-mail I received 2 weeks ago.

 A German Buddy Holly & 3 Stars fan wrote me 
that he found an article in a German magazine.

As he said, the article might be of interest
 to the readers of my website.

This article was about Ritchie Valens, the youngest
 victim of the tragic plane crash on  February 3rd, 1959, 
a day that went down in history and is still called 

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

thanks to Don McLean, it also ended the lives of 
Buddy Holly and J.P.  Richardson (The Big Bopper).


Ritchie_dead_outside_the_plane
Ritchie dead outside the plane



YEEHAAW!  MAG, GERMANY, Part 1


YEEHAAW! MAG GERMANY, Part 1




Yeehaaw! Editor's Note, Part 1:


Following a rumor I started to collect some information 
and after a phone call everything was clear: 
I was on the track of one of the most 
obscure Rock'n Roll memorabilia objects. 

No, this time it wasn't about a record, but about a
 gravestone; more precisely that of Ritchie Valens! 

It is known that J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), Buddy Holly
 and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash on 3.2.1959. 




Certificate of death




Ritchie was buried at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. 

In 1987 Ritchie's mother died shortly after the performance 
of "La Bamba" in which she was still playing. 
She had already secured herself a place next to her son's grave. 


Ritchie_in_a_TV_Show
Ritchie in a TV Show

Thereupon the original gravestone was exchanged for a 
new one with the names and dates of mother and son. 

No one knew what to do with the old stone, so the 
stonemason took it with him and put it in his hall. 





The gravestone in the hall of the stonemason in the USA

In the hall of the stonemason




Years later his son came across it and as chance would have it, 

he knew a Hollywood-based dealer for Hollywood memorabilia. 






Coroner's report

The coroner's report



After that the gravestone landed profanely on Ebay, 


where the collector Harald Hertlein became aware of it. 





Ritchie's first gravestone

Ritchie's 1st gravestone







YEEHAAW!  MAG, GERMANY, Part 2


YEEHAAW! MAG GERMANY, Part 2

 


Yeehaaw! Editor's Note, Part 2:


Harald is one of the few absolute 

Ritchie Valens fans and collectors, 

long before the film "La Bamba" was released

 and Ritchie became really known. 


So after some back and forth the stone reached Leverkusen, 

where Harald had it walled into the wall of his office.


Maybe the whole thing seems a bit macabre to

 some people, but as Harald remarked: 

"Too bad to throw away, too curious to own, but just awesome." 

Such a thing is unique. 

      So, if you want to save yourself the trip to California, 

       Ritchie's original gravestone is in Leverkusen, Germany.  


                   

© Yeehaaw Magazine 

Translation by Hans




The additional pics for this topic were sent 

in by Uwe Kischkel, editor of the magazine.


For further information / Für weitere Informationen :


https://www.yeehaaw.de/


Many thanks, vielen Dank, Uwe!


Hans, editor www.buddyhollylives.info