Ritchie Valens Biography
Ritchie Valens was born on May 13th, 1941, born Richard Steven Valenzuela. He lived with his father during his childhood, and when his father died he moved to Pacoima, California. He lived with his aunt for a while. At age 16 Ritchie became a member of a local group called the Silhouettes. He was one of the main vocalists and guitarists of the group. Bob Keene discovered Ritchie when Ritchie and the Silhouettes heard about the record label and had a man tape one of their gigs (shows). The man then gave Bob Keane the tape, and Mr. Keane liked Ritchie's great voice, and raw flair. Bob then came and watched Ritchie perform, and immediately liked his style. He soon asked him to come to his home and record some demos for him. One song that Ritchie recorded was We Belong Together. It has been known as one of Ritchie's favorite songs. One song that Ritchie wrote and had always performed was Come On, Let's Go. Ritchie performed this for Keene as a demo, and Keene decided it needed a little work. Keene worked out a few words, changed the tune, and Walla! Ritchie's first single was a hit! Come On, Let's Go instantly hit #42 on the national charts. His next single Donna b/w La Bamba was also a big hit. La Bamba was #22 and Donna was #3 on the charts when Bob Keene decided that Ritchie needed to go on tour. So Ritchie signed up with the Winter Dance Party Tour. He left towards the end of January 1959. On February 3rd the tour arrived in Clear Lake, Iowa. The tour bus had been breaking down lately and Ritchie and the Big Bopper had developed colds, while Buddy Holly was getting sick of the tour. Buddy booked a plane and Ritchie and the Bopper took up the last two seats on the plane. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff and killed all on board. Ritchie still had a few things in store for us after his untimely death at the age of 17. His first album, Ritchie Valens, was in the top ten on the album charts. That's My Little Suzie b/w In a Turkish Town was also a hit and hit #55. His 2nd album, Ritchie, was not a big success, because it only contained one big hit, Little Girl which peaked at #92. Ritchie also had a live performance at a local high school recorded and that was also released on album, along with albums and such. Ritchie now has many things that remember him. Please visit this page https://www.angelfire.com/buddybad/votenow.html Help get Ritchie in the hall of fame! Thank you and please visit the rest of my page! GREAT THANKS TO JAKE FOR HELP WITH THIS PAGE!
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