It is the late 1950’s in southern California, and a young superstar named Ritchie Valens, whether he knows it or not, is about to change the culture of America forever. In a matter of eight months, the Hispanic student at San Fernando High School just became one of the biggest celebrity musicians of the day.1 After dropping out of school in order to record and tour full time, Richard Valenzuela was making phenomenal Rock N’ Roll music, both on stage and in the studio. While America quickly became obsessed with the undeniably talented teen, nothing could prepare them for his next release.
From the beginning, the odds were against young Richard. He was merely sixteen, and, as a young Latino, there were few opportunities for someone like him in the American mainstream music industry, let alone in Rock ’n Roll. He saw proof of this fact early in his career, facing prejudice and discrimination at every turn. He was even forced to change his name to Ritchie Valens in order to make it easier for his fans to pronounce—a compromise that gave way to controversy and anger from his family.2 Ritchie realized that, even though he was opposed to the changing of his name, it would be a smart move for him as a musician. But even after his family name was taken from him, he refused to let go of his heritage. In fact, it seemed that he tightened his grip.
Ritchie wanted to do something to pay tribute to his Latino culture. With the assistance of Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records, he decided he would combine the two worlds that he was now so heavily a part of, by turning the Spanish tune “La Bamba” into an upbeat rock song. Only knowing English, Ritchie had to learn the lyrics of the traditional Mexican folk song phonetically. After countless takes in the studio, he recorded the song on a two-track record with a second soon-to-be hit Oh, Donna.3
Ritchie released the track and promptly shook up America. Most people had no idea what the song was about, but, for one of the first times in modern music history, they didn’t care. The charismatic rhythm of the song combined with Ritchie’s unique voice; it was impossible to dislike it, and the song spread like wildfire, taking his career to new heights.
Seeing Ritchie perform was a spectacle only few Americans were graced with. His energy and impeccable guitar skills would engage the thousands of audience members from start to finish.4 While the crowd was swooning over every single song, there was nothing like that epic guitar riff that carries the tune of La Bamba.3 As soon as Ritchie’s guitar pick hit his strings, the fans simply could not contain themselves.
Unfortunately, Richard Valenzuela’s career was ended even quicker than it begun. Soon after his explosive rise to fame was sparked, and before he could finish his tour, Ritchie Valens was killed in a plane crash along with fellow artists Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson.6 The tragedy triggered nation-wide shock, and the day became known by many as “The Day The Music Died.”7
Although his life was ended much too early, perhaps it was this terrible fate that immortalized him in music history. His music and the rest of Valens’ amazing life inspired the film La Bamba, a timeless and classic film. Ritchie’s brave move in the release of “La bamba” inspired and enabled many other Hispanic artists to begin to make their way into the spotlight, making it much more than just a great song. We see the repercussions still today, through modern Latin Rock bands and all the sub-genres surrounding them, and will without a doubt continue to experience the fruits of the song for decades to come. Needless to say, American music and culture would not be the same without Richard Valenzuela’s audacious contributions.
- Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2004, s.v. “Ritchie Valens.” ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2017, s.v. “Ritchie Valens,” by Scot M. Guenter. ↵
- “‘La Bamba’ one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century,” Broadcast Transcript. Weekend All Things Considered, NPR, July 15, 2000. ↵
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 2nd ed. “Valens, Ritchie (1941–1959),” Candida Taylor. ↵
- “‘La Bamba’ one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century,” Broadcast Transcript. Weekend All Things Considered, NPR, July 15, 2000. ↵
- Robert Wright, “The Day The Music Died,” Aviation Safety, July 1, 2015. ↵
- “What Went Wrong On The Day Music Died?” Interview by Robert Siegel, Melissa Block, All Things Considered, NPR, February 3, 2009. ↵
163 comments
Valeria Perez
La Bamba is in the category of songs that they always play at Mexican events. As a result, I am very familiar with it, though I had never thought about the song’s origins. It was sad to hear that Ritchie Valens life and career ended so soon. It is amazing how his “unorthodox” song for the time created such a wave in American mainstream media! His efforts made is possible to modern Latino musicians to have more opportunities.
Engelbert Madrid
I thought that the song was written and played by Los Lobos, but now I know it was composed by a young, Hispanic musician. Despite discrimination and racism being a huge issue for Latinos, Richard Valenzuela was persistent with his passion for a successful musical career. His song “La Bamba” would always be a song that will be remembered and played in Mexican-American culture. I’m glad I read this article and it really encourages me as a musician to never give up on making music and performing in local events.
Lilliana Canales
Ritchie Valens continues to be remembered by many and his death most definitely hurt the people of his time. During his time, he did witness discrimination and this article really touches on that by mentioning his name change and why he decided to drop out of school. To people now, they’d see his drop out as a terrible move, but as mentioned in the article, it was a great career move for a Hispanic boy in the 1950’s. His music was hated by many adults, but enjoyed by much of the younger generation. This article does a great job of going into depth about Ritchie’s music career and the video was a nice addition.
Stephanie Silvola
La bamba is an iconic song amongst the Hispanic community. Growing up, all I ever remember hearing was this song that sang the lyrics, “Para bailar la bamba.” It was the rage of when it came out and Richie was the star. My mother grew up alongside Richie’s music so when his death was announced it impacted my mom a little. Valens had paved a road for many Hispanic musicians and continues to be a great artist that inspires many.
Jose Fernandez
This is a very interesting article. I really like this song and I can’t believe I didn’t know about its origin. This happens a lot in the music industry; people like the songs but they know nothing about its authors. I was really surprised when I read that the singer died in a plane crash. He made a historical song and I’m sure he will never be forgotten.
Diego Aguilera
This song “La Bamba” will live on for centuries and is such a great song to listen to no matter what is going on. Death is never a good thing and in fact its worse when its too early, its also too common in the world today as we just lost Mac Miller at 23. What I really like about Valens is he represents the Hispanic culture as the man he is and through his music which is so important in his age and ours today. Richie is definitely a icon that will live on forever even his music will too.
Mason Meza
La Bamba is a classic song that almost everyone could recognize as soon as it comes on. I knew very little about Valens, but after reading this article and seeing what he brought to the music industry is amazing. It is such a tragedy that he died at such a young age. I believe he could have brought so much more to the music industry as he grew. He was an iconic figure to not just Hispanics but to everyone that was interested in music.
Daniela Cardona
I never realized Richie Valens was involved in the plane crash with Buddy Holly. I have always been familiar with the song La Bamba and have always loved the rhythm. I didn’t know it was a remake of an original song or that it was Richie Valens’ s song. I also wasn’t aware that Richie was hispanic and that he had to change his name. It makes me appreciate the song a lot more knowing that he stuck to his guns and made something involving his culture that the media seemed to want to hide.
Daniela Cardona
I never realized that Richie Valens was involved in that infamous plane crash or that La Bamba was his song. I also never realized he was a hispanic do to the name change. It is unfortunate he had to change such a big part of himself in order to make it in the industry, but I appreciate that he stuck to his roots with the re production of La Bamba. The fact that it blew up shows how important it is to be true to yourself and do what you love.
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
Wow, what an interesting article. Growing up, I remember listening to La Bamba countless times. Ritchie Valens not only spread positivity through his music but also for his willingness to overcome adversity, being a role model to many, especially because of the difficulties many Hispanics faced during this time within the music industry. It is sad to see Ritchie Valens’ career cut short. However, his legacy will continue forever, and he will continue to inspire and make people dance for generations to come.