Southampton - The date of February 3, 2011 marked the 52nd anniversary of what musician Don McLean referred to as "The Day The Music Died" in his chart topping song "American Pie." On this day in 1959, three American Rock and Roll legends, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as their pilot, perished way before their time in a tragic plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. (goldminemag.com)

Though McLean has never given a complete interpretation of the 1971 chart topper "American Pie," he has identified it as an ode to Holly, Valens and Richardson, and dedicated it to Holly. When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean said "You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me. - sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence."

McLean said that he first learned of Holly's death while working as a newspaper delivery boy. The first few stanzas of the song refer to this event: "February made me shiver/ With every paper I delivered/ Bad news on the doorstep/I couldn't take one more step."

Holly, Valens and Richardston were on a Midwestern tour called "The Winter Dance Party" along with Dion and the Belmonts. They were unprepared for the freezing winter temperatures, and after the heat on their tour bus broke down, Holly became fed up and suggested that the group charter a private plane and head to the next tour stop rather than return to the bus.

Richardson had come down with the flu while on tour, and asked Buddy Holly's band mate Waylon Jennings for his seat on the plane. Jennings agreed, however when Holly heard that Jennings would not be on the plane, a conversation would ensue that would haunt Jennings for the rest of his life. Holly said, "Well I hope your ol' bus freezes up," to which Jennings responded, "Well I hope your ol' plane crashes."

A photo taken of the crash site. (elvispelvis.com)

Valens, who was 16 at the time and nervous about flying, flipped a coin with another one of Holly's band mates, Tommy Allsup for a seat on the plane. A DJ with KRIB-AM named Bob Hale performed the coin toss which Valens won.

The crew boarded the plane after the concert and took off at about 1 a.m., however when the plane did not establish radio contact or arrive at its destination in North Dakota, the Air Traffic Control united reported the group missing.

The wreckage of the plane was found just eight miles from the airport where it took off. All those on board died instantly of gross trauma. At the time of the crash, Buddy Holly's single "That'll Be The Day" was number one on the Billboard charts.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper have become Rock and Roll legends, and are credited with influencing Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan. Some have interpreted the McLean line "bye, bye, Miss American Pie," as a farewell to the legacy of Americana, which he believed was disappearing. Perhaps McLean felt it disappeared after the crash.

Today we remember, "The Day The Music Died."