Travel ‘The day the music died’: Clear Lake, Iowa, marks 60 years since Buddy Holly plane crash February 1, 2019Matthew Leimkuehler, Des Moines RegisterComments Off on ‘The day the music died’: Clear Lake, Iowa, marks 60 years since Buddy Holly plane crash Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died Feb. 3, 1959, following a tour stop at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.