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It\u2019s not the cheeriest of thoughts, but isn\u2019t it interesting how many spiritual\u00a0sites are connected with death? From the\u00a0Church of the Holy Sepulcher<\/a> in Jerusalem\u00a0and\u00a0Normandy Cemetery<\/a> in France to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania, places\u00a0associated with tragedy\u00a0are often considered sacred.<\/p>\n On a recent trip to northern Iowa, I added another such site to my list, one that at first might seem an unlikely pilgrimage destination: the farmer\u2019s field\u00a0where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and\u00a0J.P. \u201cThe Big Bopper\u201d Richardson were killed in a plane crash in 1959. If you\u2019re of my vintage, you may know of this tragedy as \u201cThe Day the Music Died,\u201d a phrase from the song \u201cAmerican Pie\u201d by\u00a0Don McLean (that melancholy\u00a0song was part of the soundtrack of my generation\u2019s teenage years, each line endlessly parsed for symbolic meaning.)<\/p>\n To be honest, it took me awhile to realize that this is a place of pilgrimage. But as I stood at the simple memorial, suddenly it clicked. I saw the offerings\u00a0left on the ground. I realized I\u2019d met pilgrims as I approached the site\u2013a couple from\u00a0Norman, Oklahoma, who had made a detour on a cross-country trip to pay their respects. I could see another group of visitors walking\u00a0down the path. Yes, this is a pilgrimage site, all right\u2013one that is\u00a0connected not to religious faith, but instead is intertwined with music, memory and lost youth.<\/p>\n As with most\u00a0pilgrimage sites, there\u2019s a\u00a0narrative that helps shape the meaning of this place, one that is told and retold by visitors. It begins the\u00a0evening before the three musicians\u00a0died, when they\u00a0played a concert at the nearby Surf Ballroom<\/a> in Clear Lake, Iowa. \u00a0As\u00a0rising stars in\u00a0the new genre of rock \u2018n roll, they drew a large and\u00a0enthusiastic crowd at the Surf. Buddy Holly in particular was on the fast track to fame, thanks to a string of hits that included\u00a0\u201cPeggy Sue\u201d and \u201cThat\u2019ll Be the Day.\u201d<\/p>\n That evening, Holly decided to book a small private plane to take him to the group\u2019s\u00a0next gig in North Dakota rather than travel by the\u00a0drafty and cold tour bus. There was much discussion about the\u00a0two other available\u00a0seats. Waylon Jennings, a member of Holly\u2019s band, was offered a spot, but he graciously gave it to Richardson, who had come down with the flu. The last seat was wanted by both band member Tommy Allsup and Ritchie Valens, so the two flipped a coin. Allsup lost the toss and won his life.<\/p>\n The plane went down soon after take-off, plunging into a farmer\u2019s field. The three musicians and pilot, Roger Peterson,\u00a0were killed instantly. And ever since pilgrims have been coming to this spot in the middle of rural Iowa. Marked with a metal\u00a0memorial made in the shape of a guitar and three vinyl records, the site attracts one kind of offering\u00a0more than any other: coins, given in recognition of the\u00a0fateful\u00a0toss.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting to speculate on\u00a0why this place continues to draw people from around the world. Part of it is simply that the musicians died young, at the height of their fame (Holly was 22, Valens was 17 and Richardson 28). Part of it is the way that their music helped define an entire era, in a way that music, segmented as it is today into so many different genres, no longer does. And part of it, I think, is that the tragedy makes one reflect on the passing of one\u2019s\u00a0own youth.<\/p>\n But if this is where the music died, I must also tell you about where the music\u00a0lives. The Surf Ballroom<\/a>\u2013the site of the last concert of the three\u2013is as much a pilgrimage destination as the crash site.\u00a0\u00a0If it wasn\u2019t for the Buddy Holly connection it\u2019s unlikely the Surf\u00a0would have survived, but the fame brought by the last concert attracts\u00a0a steady stream of patrons and musicians to its doors. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in\u00a0Cleveland has designated the Surf\u00a0a Rock and Roll Landmark.\u00a0Travel + Leisure Magazine<\/em> has named it\u00a0as one of the Coolest Music Venues in America<\/a>, an honor shared with Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople come from around the world to honor the memory of those who died,\u201d says Nicki Barragy, education coordinator for the ballroom and museum. \u201cBut the Surf is a living place as well, full of dances, concerts and events. That\u2019s the best way to honor their legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The original Surf opened in Clear Lake in 1934. After being destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt across the street in 1948, decorated in a tropical theme with murals of surf and palm trees and faux clouds projected on its midnight blue ceiling. Holding up to 2,100 people, the Surf has hosted many of the entertainment world\u2019s top names, from Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers to Martina McBride and B.B. King.<\/p>\n Today its 1950s interior, restored to pristine condition, is like a time machine, its\u00a0hallways lined with publicity photos of guest artists from past decades. Musicians have also left their mark on the walls of the Surf\u2019s dressing room, which is covered with hundreds of signatures (including a handwritten stanza of \u201cAmerican Pie\u201d signed by McLean).<\/p>\n The Surf\u2019s museum, located in a lounge adjacent to the main ballroom, gives\u00a0information on the three musicians who lost their lives as well as other artists who have played here. Its\u00a0memorabilia includes a briefcase used by J.P. Richardson and the handwritten lyrics to Ritchie\u2019s \u201cLa Bamba.\u201d Most poignant of all is the phone booth where Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens made their final phone calls after finishing their concert.<\/p>\n When I visited the\u00a0Surf I got the chance to talk with Margaret Majerczyk, a native of England who now lives in Iowa and who teaches dancing lessons at the Surf. She also helps host its international visitors, including many from her home country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe British Buddy Holly Society started in the early 1960s and has many members in England,\u201d she says. \u201cHe was a huge influence there on younger musicians and on teenagers like myself, who grew up surrounded by rock \u2018n roll music. We\u2019ve had hundreds of members of the club visit over the years. One man has been here 31 years in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n But while Majerczyk enjoys hosting her fellow Brits on their annual pilgrimage, her favorite event at the Surf happens much more frequently. \u201cI like to watch older visitors come into the Surf,\u201d she says. \u201cAs they come down the ramp into the ballroom, they often seem frail. But once they step onto the dance floor a transformation occurs and they\u2019re gliding like they\u2019re young again.\u201d<\/p>\n I left the Surf in a contemplative mood. I thought of those coins left at the crash site and of how so\u00a0much of what happens to us seems\u00a0to be the result of random chance. I thought of those elderly couples dancing underneath the fake\u00a0clouds and the benevolent gaze of Holly, Valens and Richardson, whose pictures overlook the ballroom. And I thought of how holy sites blossom in\u00a0unexpected places, nurtured by the need we have to remember, to celebrate and to mourn, whether it\u2019s someone we knew or someone who symbolizes part of our past that is gone forever.<\/p>\n On a happier note, let me end with\u00a0Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, followed by\u00a0Don McLean singing \u201cAmerican Pie.\u201d For thankfully, it turns out that the music didn\u2019t die after all.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_8798\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/628\/2014\/06\/IMG_8798-1024x681.jpg\")
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