I loved “Oh, Donna” too. Beautifully written Thom Hickey!
‘[Ritchie Valens] was a quiet, underrated yet enormously influential member of the handful of folk visionaries who almost single-handedly created rock and roll in the Fifties’ (Lester Bangs)
‘I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.’ (St John’s Gospel)
February 2 1959.
The coin rose into the Iowa night air – spinning, spinning, spinning.
Tommy Allsup and 17 year old Ritchie Valens watched it carefully wondering which way it would land and who would have the good luck to exchange freezing hours on the ancient, ‘Winter Dance Party’ tour bus for a seat on a plane with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Before they knew it they’d be in the warmth of Fargo Airport and arrive at their next gig in Moorehead without having to worry about frostbite.
The coin was caught and Ritchie, the…
View original post 1,486 more words
Perth Words... exploring possibilities. 
Leave a comment