Donna
Ritchie Valens - Donna
Related Lessons
lesson:
Ritchie Valens
Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: General Music
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
Related People
people:
Ritchie Valens
(1941 – 1959) The first Rock and Roll star of Latin-American descent, Ritchie Valens had only a brief musical career, which was cut short when he died at 17 in the same 1959 airplane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. He’s best known for his single “La Bamba,” a rocked up version of a traditional Mexican wedding song, which was only a minor hit on its release, but has endured as a classic of the early Rock and Roll era, as well as perhaps the first example of Latin culture and Rock and Roll intersecting. Born Richard Valenzuela,...