"Here's my scrapbook," she says, pulling out a thick brown album from behind her desk. Our main focus is to keep you informed and updated with the latest trending issues. (photosinhouse16@gmail.com) But whenever Id call up and ask to speak to Jerry Wallace (of Primrose Lane fame), hed see that Ritchie would be back before I knew it. As she remembered, Connie Valenzuela, seated by the kitchen table, smiled. I of course still speak it, but when I was around his father I never would.). The marriage only lasted a year. One theory was that Peterson was overcome with admiration for his superstar passengers. Unfortunately, death interrupted his promising career after he was killed in a plane crash. At school, he played guitar and sang songs to his friends. Dressed in black leather pants with a colorful jacket and Indian jewelry, he was undeniably an older version of the rebel and womanizer portrayed in the film. One hand-tinted studio portrait shows a grinning teen-age Valens in a sport coat and bow tie, another of him standing next to a black-and-chromed 57 Thunderbird. Deejays began playing a sappy spinoff song about her loss, "Letter to Donna" by a group called the Kittens. His father was a crew chief in the U.S. Marine Corps. owner of several businesses. she says, totally absorbed. Her parents are Francisco Lopez Reyes and Maria Refugia Lopez Reyes. This guy {from Columbia Pictures} says, 'Trust me.' In reality, Fox-Coots says, "I was something of a little rebel. His parents, Joseph Steve and Concepci n (Reyes) Valenzuela, were working at a munitions plant at the time of his birth. I told his brother Bob, come on, lets go to Saugus. After their February 2, 1959, performance inClear Lake, Iowa, Holly, Richardson, and Valens flew out of theMason Cityairport in a small plane that Holly had chartered. The day later became known as The Day the Music Died. Donna . Connie Valens, younger sister of rock and roll legend Ritchie Valens visited Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont on Tuesday to discuss her brother, and how losing him affected her family. "Who knows? If we had known we could work with a lawyer like you we would have done this a long time ago. Having seen the film several times now, both sisters have mixed emotions about the movie. Ritchie Valens had several hits in his eight-month career. At the end of 1987, all music publishing rights to Valens compositions will revert to her. While the demand for Valens records has grown, his fans and relatives have been clamoring for greater recognition of his accomplishments. Not only were the steamy encounters between her and Valens deleted, but he is portrayed by actor Lou Diamond Phillips as a sensitive, caring young man who is constantly teased by his older brother Bob about his sexual innocence. And they said, Well, more or less, but its a story about two brothers now.. Richard Steven Valenzuela was born outside of Los Angeles in 1941. Roberto Bob Morales, Ritchie Valens, Connie Lemos, Irma Norton, and Mario Ramirez are the names of Concepcion Valenzuelas children. Organizers said Ludwig-Coots had been invited to attend the ceremony. You know Bob Keane has controlled Ritchies music for all these years. "He looked like Ritchie," she says, "but he was not the same kind of person." The plane crashed five miles outside of the airport. When the Aeronautics Board investigation report came out, it attributed the cause of the crash to pilot error. . You answered all of my questions and made this process easy. I still remember the first time we heard Ritchie sing on the radio, the mother of the late Latino rock n roller Ritchie Valens recalled about that distant day, almost 30 years ago. A number of the performers caught colds and one was even hospitalized for frostbite. Richard Steven Valenzuela was born May 13, 1941 in Pacoima, California, says Biography. Ritchie Valens, original name Richard Stephen Valenzuela, (born May 13, 1941, Pacoima, California, U.S.died February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa), American singer and songwriter and the first Latino rock and roll star. She prepared a trust, wills, power of attorneys, and healthcare documents for us. His insurance company settled for $75,000. When they (Keane and associates) came in to the mortuary, they brought copies of the album. She then tried to manage an Asian-Mexican singer, Chan Romera, who gained some regional recognition in California with his version of Hippy Hippy Shake. After attending a Ritchie Valens memorial dance here, she decided to move from Pacoima, which harbored many unhappy memories. "Significant as the residence of Ritchie Valens, nationally-acclaimed rock and roll musician. Ritchie Valens was a talented musician and singer who achieved fame in the late 1950s with hits like "La Bamba" and "Donna." Despite his young age, Valens had a successful career and was able to provide for his family, including buying a house for his mother. who played her in She died on 18 October 1987, in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California, USA. Valens hit records included Come On, Lets Go, Donna, and a rock version of a traditional Mexican folk song, La Bamba., Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. He never was able to sell it. The 17-year-old died in a small plane crash in Iowa on Feb. 3, 1959, along with Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and the pilot. Another theory claimed that a fight broke out between the performers and one shot another. Ritchie Valens, born Richard Steven Valenzuela, passed away at the young age of 17 in 1959 on February 3rd {The Day The Music Died}. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dear Abby, Thank you again for your help. Her big date with Elvis Presley came a year after her high school graduation while she was working as a nightclub hostess in Los Angeles. Lou Diamond Phillips was born on February 17th, 1962, to Lucita Umayam Araas and Gerald Amon Upchurch in Subic Bay Naval Station, Philippines. Other pilots also recalled that Peterson also became confused easily and would have been a dangerous flight for Peterson. "If I'd known I was going to get all this attention," she cracks, "I would have lost 20 pounds. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. I got an insurance policy on his life.. She said his mentor and uncle Dickie Cota taught the boy how to strum a guitar and how to sing it in Spanish. Concepcion Valenzuela: Where Is Ritchie Valens Mother Now? He did not abuse alcohol or smoke.. Birthdate: May 13, 1941 Family: Parents: Joseph Steve and Concepcion (Connie) Reyes Valenzuela, brothers Robert (Bobby) and Mario, sisters, Connie and Irma. With that, several people nearby broke again into the familiar chorus: Donna . -- Ritchie Valens' sister, Irma Norton, left, made her first. May he R.I.P. But do you know that Keane presented me with a bill of $4,000 for Ritchies funeral? She and six of her . Each additional print is $2.99. In the winter of 1959, Richie Valens was traveling the Midwest on a rock and roll tour called The Winter Dance Party. Also on the tour were Buddy Holly, with his backup band including Tommy Allsup, Waylon Jennings and Carl Bunch and The Big Bopper. 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In the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba, Howard Huntsberry plays R&B singer Jackie Wilson and performs "Lonely Teardrops. Asked why her personalized license plates on her late model Cadillac bear the words Hi-Tone, Mrs. Valenzuela confessed it came from one of Ritchies songs by the same name. ", "He wanted to know all about Ritchie," recalls Fox-Coots, who accompanied Presley to a penthouse party at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Net Worth: $500 . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He has American. Red West, a Presley bodyguard, had learned from one of Fox-Coots' girlfriends that she was the legendary Donna. Sleepwalk (1 hour) Ritchie Valens. He was accompanied by other big-name artists such as J.P. Richardson and Buddy Holly, as well as pilot Robert Peterson but they never made it to their destination. Bob Morales,Irma Norton,Mario Ramirez, Ritchie Valens. Mark Montalbn: Who is Ricardo Montalbns son? They interviewed everyone involved and did extensive analysis of the crash site. However, Come On, Lets Go did indeed come from an expression used by both Ritchie and his mom whenever they went somewhere. An unveiling of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Highway will take place on Aug. 25 at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima. Concepcions son Ritchie Valens was a rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement. Ritchie was CONNECT. When did Connie Valenzuela pass away? He and his mother Concepcion Valenzuela were buried by each other. It just upsets me too much." They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. "I was 15 years old, for heaven's sakes," she exclaims. He was on tour with singer Buddy Holly and Texas disc jockey J. P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson when their small plane crashed in a frozen Iowa cornfield on Feb. 3, 1959, killing them. Although this website discusses legal issues, nothing on this website constitutes legal advice. Ritchie Valens' mom, Connie Valenzuela, passed in 1987. Dwyer's insurance company settled with Richie's mother for $75,000 - $25,000 each for Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. At just 17 years old, Valens was the youngest to die in the crash. She respected our wishes and valued our input. I was devastated. You know in the movie, some of the kids call him Hi Tone, but that wasnt actually his nickname. Bob was out there with women and booze; Mom worked a lot, and my dad had left us. and amazing insight. A year later, at age 19, she married a musician who sang and played the guitar. CLEAR LAKE To the rest of the world, Ritchie Valens is a rock 'n' roll icon. "I was attracted to him because he was a nice man, er " She stops herself. "She's certainly got a story to tell. Many claim that Richie didnt read the agreement he signed with Keane that stated how the royalties from his music were to be handled. But this time theyll be seeing the Spanish-language version of La Bamba, the new movie about her sons all-too-brief singing career and her family. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. So Id call up one of the deejays, because at that time they would sponsor dances. To get to the bottom of the cause of the crash experts from the Civil Aeronautics Board came to the crash site to launch an investigation. I feel kind of silly. As with Holly and Richardson, Valens suffered massive and unsurvivable head injuries along withblunt-force traumato the chest. She also got married to Robert Morales in 1952. Corrections? He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. a professional manager, a decision she would live to regret. ", Instead of making her feel special, being the real Donna just as often embarrassed her. But I never really promised him one.. She was reflective, if a little dim, about memories of her son, who died Feb. 3, 1959 in a plane crash during a snowstorm in Iowa. Morales reluctantly admitted, as his younger sisters teased him, that his mom beat him up one night when he arrived home in a drunken state. Ritchie Valens Biography by Richie Unterberger The first Hispanic rock star, Ritchie Valens will forever be known as one of the two musicians (along with the Big Bopper) who perished with Buddy Holly in 1959, when their private plane crashed in the midst of a Midwest tour. Hes my own little Ritchie, Connie Jr., his aunt chortled, as she hugged the embarrassed youngster. His first hit, Come On, Lets Go (1958), was followed later that year by Donna, a ballad written for an ex-girlfriend, and La Bamba, Valenss best-remembered recording, a rock and roll reworking of a traditional Mexican wedding song, sung in Spanish (though Valens hardly spoke the language). The crash killed all three passengers and pilot Roger Peterson instantly upon impact. But her absence failed to bother most of the 200 lovers of rock n roll who gathered around noon on Hollywood Boulevard. It was the same song Valens had sung to her over the telephone a year before, after they had decided to date other people.

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