Richie Valens
| Ritchie Valens | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Steven Valenzuela |
| Also known as | Ritchie Valens |
| Born |
May 13, 1941 Pacoima, California |
| Died | February 3, 1959 (aged 17) Clear Lake, Iowa, US |
| Genres | Rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter and guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1957–1959 |
| Website | ritchievalens |
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known as Ritchie Valens, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A rock & roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died in a plane crash.
During this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.
On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "the Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Valens was born Richard Steven Valenzuela in Pacoima, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. His parents were Joseph Steven Valenzuela and Concepcion Reyes; he was of Mexican descent and the second of five siblings with older brother Bob Morales, younger sisters Connie and Irma, and younger brother Mario Ramirez. Ritchie Valenzuela was brought up hearing traditional Mexican mariachi music, as well as flamenco guitar, R&B, and jump blues. Valenzuela expressed an interest in making music of his own by the age of five, and he was encouraged by his father to take up guitar and trumpet, and later taught himself the drums. Though Valenzuela was left handed, he was so eager to learn the guitar that he mastered the traditionally right-handed version of the instrument. When he was 16 years old, he was invited to join a local band, the Silhouettes, as a guitarist, and when the main vocalist left the group, Valenzuela assumed the position. On October 19, 1957, he made his performing debut with the Silhouettes. Valenzuela attended Pacoima Junior High School (now Pacoima Middle School). By the time Valenzuela was attending junior high school, he brought the guitar to school and would sing and play songs to his friends on the bleachers.
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