hope your ol' plane crashes!" Less than an hour and a half later, shortly after 1:00 am on February 3, 1959, Holly's charter plane crashed into a cornfield outside Mason City, instantly killing all on board. Later that morning, Jennings's family heard on the radio that "Buddy Holly and his band had been killed." After calling his family, Jennings called Sky Corbin at KLLL from Fargo to confirm that he had not been aboard the plane. The General Artists Corporation promised to pay for first-class tickets for Jennings and the band to attend Holly's funeral in Lubbock in exchange for them playing that night in Moorhead. After the first show, they were initially denied their payment by the venue, but after Jennings's persistence, they were paid. The flights were never paid for, and Jennings and Allsup continued the tour for two more weeks, featuring Jennings as the lead singer. They were paid less than half of the original agreed salary, and upon returning to New York, Jennings put Holly's guitar and amplifier in a locker in Grand Central Terminal and mailed the keys to Maria Elena Holly. Then he returned to Lubbock. In the early 1960s, Jennings wrote and recorded "The Stage (Stars in Heaven)", a tribute to Valens, the Big Bopper and Holly, as well as Eddie Cochran, a young musician who died in a road accident a year after the plane crash. For decades afterward, Jennings repeatedly stated that he felt responsible for the crash that killed Holly. This sense of guilt precipitated bouts of substance abuse through much of his career. "Jole Blon" was released on Brunswick in March 1959 with limited success. Now unemployed, Jennings returned to KLLL. Deeply affected by the death of Holly, Jennings's performance at the station worsened. He left the station after he was denied a raise, and later worked briefly for the competition, KDAV. Phoenix Due to his father-in-law's illness, Jennings had to shuttle between Arizona and Texas. While his family lived back in Littlefield, Jennings found a job briefly at KOYL in Odessa, Texas. He moved with his family to Coolidge, Arizona, where his wife Maxine's sister lived. He found a job performing at the Galloping Goose bar, where he was heard by Earl Perrin, who offered him a spot on KCKY. Jennings also played during the intermission at drive-in theaters and in bars. After a successful performance at the