Ritchie Valens

Ricardo Valenzuela, who changed his name to Ritchie Valens by the request of his manager was one of the founders and one of the most inspiring Spanish Rock musicians of our time.  His story is tragic as we all know, dying in a plane crash during the Winter of 1959 at only the age of 17.  He began to play guitar at the age of 9 and was influenced by rhythm and blues.  He was discovered by Bob Keane, owner of Del-Fi Records.  Valens only had a record contract for eight months, and was only able to record a handful of songs and perform on a couple rock and roll tours.  His biggest hit was Donna, a song that was written for his girlfriend, it was charted at number 3 on the Billboard charts at the time of his death.  That fatal plane crash, who also took the lives of the young pilot, The Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly, took place near Clear Lake, Iowa.  It was a cold winter, and the bus they were traveling on was a wreck, so Holly prepared to take a quicker and warmer ride to their next destination.  Holly and the Bopper had their seat reserved and Valens unfortunately earned his way on by winning a coin toss.  There are several compilation albums for Valens during his eight months of recording.  After his death he had his only studio album released, simply called Ritchie Valens. I own only one album by Valens.  It is a greatest hits album that includes all 12 tracks from his studio album plus ten additional tracks.  There is a movie about the life of Ritchie Valens titled after one of his hit songs, La Bama, staring Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens.

*There is not an ideal compilation for Ritchie Valens. My ideal compilation would consist of all the following album*

The very best of Ritchie Valens - 1995

Scott's Music Library