Today in Music (1959): The Day the Music Died

February 3, 1959 The Day the Music Died

At the onset of 1959, Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens were three of the biggest rockers around. Holly had scored hits like “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue.” Richardson’s biggest hit was the top 10 “Chantilly Lace” and Valens, only 17, was just getting started with his #2 hit “Donna” and the iconic “La Bamba.” Along with Dion & the Belmonts, the trio of rockers embarked on a Winter Dance Party Tour set to hit 24 Midwestern cities over three weeks. On February 2, they performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Holly was frustrated with the unheated tour bus and needed extra time to do laundry so he chartered a plane for himself and his bandmates Waylon Jennings and Tommy Alsup. However, Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson who had the flu, and Alsup lost a coin toss with Valens. Jennings, later of country music fame, joked with Holly, “I hope your ol’ plane crashes.” Jennings has said the words haunted him the rest of his life. WK The Beechcraft Bonanza plane, piloted by Roger Peterson, departed around 1am and crashed less than 6 miles outside of the airport. Everyone died instantly. The crash was attributed to poor weather conditions and pilot error. Peterson was still testing on-flight instrumentation and had not been certified to fly in weather that required sole reliance on the instruments. Don McLean famously eulogized the event in his hit 1972 #1 hit “American Pie” as “the day the music died.” It has been called “the first and greatest tragedy rock and roll has ever suffered.” WK Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died which highlights four of the songs mentioned in this post. Resources: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” for more important dates in music history Dave’s Music Database: “Music Makers’ Birthdays” DMDB encyclopedia entry for Buddy Holly DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ritchie Valens DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Big Bopper Fiftiesweb.com: The Day the Music Died: February 3, 1959 History.com: The Day the Music Died WK Wikipedia.org: The Day the Music Died First posted 2/3/2012; updated 2/3/2024.

Willie Nelson: Top 100 Songs

image from michaelcorcoran.net

Willie Nelson Top 100 Songs

Country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson was born on 4/29/1933 in Abbott, TX. He wrote hits for others before becoming a successful singer in his own right. He moved to Nashville in 1960 and moved back to Texas in 1970. He pioneered the “outlaw” country movement. He appeared in several movies including The Electric Horseman (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), and Barbarosa (1982). Dave’s Music Database initially posted its ranking of the top 10 Willie Nelson songs on its Facebook page in response to a July 12, 2010, Paste magazine list of The 10 Best Willie Nelson Songs. It was updated and expanded to a top 80 list here in honor of Nelson’s 80th birthday (April 30, 2013). In 2023, it was expanded again – this time to a top 100 list – in honor of Nelson’s 90th birthday and the announcement that he would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This list includes songs written by Nelson but performed by others (noted in parentheses) and songs Nelson covered which have DMDB higher-ranked versions by other artists (*). For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Crazy (recorded by Patsy Cline, written by Willie Nelson; 1961) 2. Always on My Mind (1982) #1 CW DMDB Top 2%: 3. On the Road Again (1980) #1 CW DMDB Top 5%: 4. Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (with Waylon Jennings, 1978) #1 CW 5. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (1975) #1 CW 6. Good Hearted Woman (live with Waylon Jennings, 1975) #1 CW 7. Georgia on My Mind (1978) * #1 CW 8. To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before (with Julio Iglesias, 1984) #1 CW 9. Pretty Paper (written by Willie Nelson, performed by Roy Orbison, 1963) 10. Hello Walls (recorded by Faron Young, written by Willie Nelson; 1961) #1 CW 11. Pancho and Lefty (with Merle Haggard, 1983) * 12. Yesterday (2014) * DMDB Top 10%: 13. The Highwayman (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, & Kris Kristofferson, 1985) #1 CW 14. Blue Skies (1978) #1 CW * 15. All of Me (1978) * 16. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1980) #1 CW DMDB Top 20%: 17. City of New Orleans (1984) * #1 CW 18. Just Breathe (2012) * 19. Heartbreak Hotel (with Leon Russell, 1979) * #1 CW 20. September Song (1978) * 21. America the Beautiful (2001) * 22. Mona Lisa (1981) * 23. Baby It’s Cold Outside (with Norah Jones, 2009) * 24. Fire and Rain (1975) * 25. Funny How Time Slips Away (written by Nelson, performed by Al Green with Lyle Lovett, 1994) 26. Help Me Make It Through the Night (1979) * 27. Without a Song (1983) * 28. Beer for My Horses (with Toby Keith, 2002) #1 CW Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 29. Live Forever (with Lucinda Williams, 2022) 30. Whiskey River (live, 1978) 31. It Was a Very Good Year (with Ray Charles, 2004) * 32. Let It Be Me (1982) 33. If I Were a Carpenter (with Sheryl Crow, 2007) * 34. What a Wonderful World (1988) * 35. Night Life (written by Willie Nelson, recorded by Rusty Draper, 1963) 36. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay (with Waylon Jennings, 1982) * 37. If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time (1976) * #1 CW 38. Pretty Paper (1963) 39. Crazy (1962) 40. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (1981) * 41. Remember Me (1975) 42. Just to Satisfy You (with Waylon Jennings, 1982) #1 CW 43. Night Life (1965) 44. Forgiving You Was Easy (1985) #1 CW 45. Funny How Time Slips Away (1962) 46. That Lucky Old Sun (with Kenny Chesney, 2008) * 47. Funny How Time Slips Away (written by Nelson, recorded by Jimmy Elledge, 1961) 48. Seven Spanish Angels (with Ray Charles, 1984) #1 CW 49. Night Life (written by Nelson, recorded by Ray Price, 1963) 50. Everything’s Beautiful in Its Own Way (with Dolly Parton, 1982) 51. Take It to the Limit (with Waylon Jennings, 1983) * 52. Pretty Paper (with Kenny Chesney, 2003) 53. Angels Flying Too Close to the Sun (1981) #1 CW 54. Twilight Time (1988) * 55. Hello Walls (1962) 56. Living in the Promiseland (1986) #1 CW 57. Funny How Time Slips Away (Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass with Willie Nelson, 1980) 58. Nothing I Can Do About It (1989) #1 CW 59. Uncloudy Day (1976) 60. Bloody Mary Morning (1974) 61. Faded Love (with Ray Price, 1980) * 62. Me and Paul (1972, re-recorded in 1985) 63. Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning (1982) 64. Half a Man (1963) 65. The Party’s Over (1967) 66. Good Times (1968) 67. Crazy Arms (1970) * 68. Heart of Gold (1986) * 69. On the Street Where You Live (2009) * 70. Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer) (1973) 71. Yesterday’s Wine (1971) 72. Touch Me (1962) 73. Willingly (with Shirley Collie, 1962) 74. Funny How Time Slips Away (written by Nelson, recorded by Billy Walker, 1961) 75. Reasons to Quit (with Merle Haggard, 1983) 76. If You Can Touch Her at All (with Waylon Jennings, 1978) 77. I’d Have to Be Crazy (1976) 78. Shotgun Willie (1973) 79. Midnight Rider (1979) * 80. Sweet Memories (1979) 81. She’s Not for You (1965) 82. The Last Letter (1963) 83. Why Do I Have to Choose (1983) 84. Little Old Fashioned Karma (1983) 85. You Took My Happy Away (1964) 86. If I Could Only Fly (with Merle Haggard, 1987) 87. I Love You a Thousand Ways (1977) 88. Something to Brag About (with Mary Kay Place, 1977) 89. Wabash Cannonball (with Hank Wilson, 1984) * 90. I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone (1974) 91. You Ought to Hear Me Cry (1977) 92. I’m a Memory (1971) 93. One in a Row (1966) 94. Bring Me Sunshine (1968) 95. I Hope So (1969) 96. Blackjack County Chain (1967) 97. Graceland (with Paul Simon, 1993) * 98. Little Things (1968) 99. Once More with Feeling (1970) 100. I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye (1965) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Willie Nelson Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 4/30/2013; updated 5/6/2023.

“Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” hit #1

Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson

Writer(s): Ed Bruce, Patsy Bruce (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 21, 1978 Peak: 42 BB, 44 CB, 36 GR, 33 AC, 14 CW, 57 CN, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.0 video, 168.27 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In the 1970s country legends like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson fought back against the slick production recording techniques and structure of the Nashville establishment. The so-called outlaw country movement proved both commercially and critically successful. Waylon topped the country charts ten times that decade; Willie did so seven times. That included 1975’s “Good Hearted Woman,” which won the Country Music Association award for Single of the Year and, in 1978, their cover of “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” The latter was originally recorded by Ed Bruce in 1975 and written with his wife Patsy Bruce. He’d been in the industry since the ‘50s, having recorded at Sun Records – the same label that introduced Elvis Presley to the world – before reaching the country charts six times. However, he never got any higher than #52. In his frustration, he wrote an autobiographical song called “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Guitar Players.” Patsy suggested he change it to “Cowboys” because “there weren’t that many who could relate to a broken-down instrumentalist whose life had fallen far short of his dreams” AC but cowboys were “the childhood heroes of most country music fans.” AC The song became a story in which the narrator warns mothers against allowing their kids to become cowboys because of lifestyle’s tough and rootless nature. He thought about pitching the song to both Jennings and Nelson, but kept it for himself. In 1976, his version reached #15. A couple of years later, he finally reached out to Waylon about recording it. Waylon’s response? “I did about two weeks ago!” TR Still, he wasn’t sure about it and approached Willie, saying “I cut this thing, but I ain’t sure about it. It don’t sound right, but it might be a great duet.” TR Their recording was, as Patsy Bruce said, embraced by “senators, house painters, movie directors, and garbage collectors. It is a song whose audience seems to cut across all lines and ages.” AC As a duet between two of the pillars of the outlaw country movement, it could even be called that genre’s anthem. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Waylon Jennings DMDB encyclopedia entry for Willie Nelson AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 243-5. TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 208-9. First posted 9/24/2023; last updated 10/2/2023.