Radio ... and Me - 13

Last week, radio stations marked the anniversary of, ‘The Day the Music Died,’ an event which was immortalized by Don McLean, in his song, American Pie.
Here is how the tragedy’s story had unfolded:
On February 4, 1959, radio stations across the musical spectrum reported the following bulletin,

(Last night,) a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll musicians: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson.

According to one of the detailed accounts you can read on Wikipedia , the plane and pilot had been hired to get the musicians from an extra gig on an already grueling tour schedule.
The weather conditions were poor when the plane took off, and became worse through the flight. Later, the flight instruments indicated that incorrect information had probably been displayed.
The crash stunned rock ’n’ roll fans and the entire music and radio industry. Until then, rock ‘n’ roll had been happy music, ‘which had a good beat, and you could dance to it.’
-- Buddy Holly’s rise to stardom had been phenominal, with such hits as, That'll Be the Day, Oh Boy and Peggy Sue. He was only 22.
-- Ritchie Valens was riding on his hits, Oh, Donna and La Bamba, the first million-selling song entirely in Spanish
-- J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, a radio disc-jockey by trade, had performed the novelty hit, Chantilly Lace.
All three were at the top of their careers.
Rock ’n’ roll had lost its carefree, playful innocence forever.

Don McLean’s song, American Pie reached #1 in the US in 1972. It contains many references to an entire generation of music history -- some obvious, others mysterious -- and has been studied for many a literary thesis from junior high school to university doctoral levels.
You can check out one of the most detailed ‘explanations’ I’ve come across , called, THE ANNOTATED AMERICAN PIE (What the song is talkin' about!), By Rich Kulawiec. In his prologue, he comments, ‘Anyway, it will get you thinking.’
BTW, there is still a mystery about the origin of the song’s title.
I’d like to keep fond memories of the crash victims by clinging to the theory that American Pie was the name of the plane.