Vee 's career began in the midst of tragedy . On February 3 , 1959 , " The Day the Music Died , " three of the four headline acts in the lineup of the traveling Winter Dance Party — Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens , and the Big Bopper &mdash; were killed in the crash of a V-tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane , along with the 21-year-old pilot , Roger Peterson . ( Dion DiMucci , the fourth headliner , had opted not to travel on the plane . ) It crashed near Clear Lake , Iowa , en route to the next show on the tour itinerary , in Moorhead , Minnesota . Velline , then 15 years old , and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys ( including his older brother Bill ) calling themselves the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement . Their performance there was a success , setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee 's career as a popular singer
The Day the Music Died
The Day the Music Died
Bobby Vee