The Day The Music Died.

Ritchie Valens

J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson

Buddy Holly

Today marks the 50th anniversary of "the day the music died." On this day in 1959, Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens died when their plane crashed in an Iowa field. Called "the first rock 'n' roll landmark" by Jim Dawson, a rock historian, it was an event that helped cement rock in the pop culture landscape of the up-and-coming generation. And while the origin of the phrase "the day the music died" may be lost on younger generations today, it is forever embedded in our minds, immortalized in the Don McLean song, "American Pie," that children at my former summer camp begged us to sing at least once every two weeks. Today, we pay our respects.