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Surf Ballroom

The last location where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson played before their tragic deaths.

Clear Lake, Iowa

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Valerie Mollema
Surf Ballroom   Chris / CC BY 2.0
Surf Ballroom   Chris / CC BY 2.0
Monument at Surf Ballroom   GravityIsForSuckers / CC BY-SA 4.0
  Chris / CC BY 2.0
  Chris / CC BY 2.0
  Chris / CC BY 2.0
Front page news on Feb 4, 1959   daisygrrl80 / Atlas Obscura User
Kevin Costner’s signature at the Surf Ballroom   daisygrrl80 / Atlas Obscura User
Surf Ballroom   Joe Passe / CC BY-SA 2.0
Outside the surf ballroom   maibyers / Atlas Obscura User
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About

This concert venue in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last location where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson played before their tragic deaths in a plane crash in 1959. Surf Ballroom is now turned into a museum of music greats, but it also still hosts concerts and events.

A stone memorial outside the venue pays tribute to the Holly, Valens, and Richardson. Not far from Surf Ballroom, the Day The Music Died Memorial marks the spot where the performers' plane went down.

Related Tags

Venues Memorials Museums Music Music History

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daisygrrl80

Published

February 27, 2024

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