On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and 'The Big Bopper' J.P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. This tragic event would later become known as 'The Day the Music Died' after singer songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his classic 1971 song 'American Pie'. Jiles Perry Richardson Jr., better known as 'The Big Bopper', was only 28-years old when his career was cut short, but by then he had already carved out a major spot for himself in the history of rock and roll. Mercury Records released this, his first and only LP, 'Chantilly Lace', in August of 1958, which quickly became a US national best-seller.