Ritchie Valens

February 17, 2005

By Ronald Thomas Suazo

It’s still painful for Ray “Lelo” Reyes to remember the day his nephew, Ritchie Valens died with fellow rockers Buddy Holly and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.

Valens is buried with his mother, Concepcion Reyes, at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

“We didn’t believe it. We didn’t want to believe it. We said maybe it was a mistake, that maybe he was alive and not dead, but the radio kept saying ‘the late Ritchie Valens’, while we drove on San Fernando Road,” he said, then paused.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk about his nephew. After all, Ray was more than an uncle. He was a father figure to Ritchie. He was obviously proud to say his name; every time he did he had a touch of fondness, with a chuckle at the end of each memory. But, to recall the memory and go into the specific details of that day again was still a little too much for Uncle Ray.

“I remember I was at work at Glading McBean’s tile factory in Glendale,” he said, “I heard about it on the radio. They let me go for the day and I picked up my wife in Burbank.”

As Ray and his wife, Ernestine, headed back home on San Fernando Road they were still in disbelief.

“We wanted to believe that he was still alive,” he said, “It was a shock, naturally…” He fell silent again.

Valens’ younger sister, Irma Norton, remembers her brother as someone who was devoted to his family and cared for his younger brother and sisters. She was only seven-years old when he died.

“He took care of us because mom worked at a restaurant,” she said, “He was our babysitter.”

Norton remembered when her famous brother played his guitar and sang for his family, and performed backyard concerts at the Valenzuela household on Remington Street in Pacoima, which Ritchie bought after he had his first hits.

“He took us to all the school dances too, there were a lot of shows he played,” she said.

One of the things Norton admires most about her brother was how everything he did was something he thought would make his family’s life better, including his decision to join the Winter Dance Party Tour with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The tour was his last outing.

After Ritchie’s death, his manager and producer, Bob Keane, owner of Del-Fi Records, faced criticism for allowing his young star to tour alone.

“You know what?” Norton said, “I don’t think we have anything bad to say about Bob Keane. I just think my brother was too young and he should’ve had someone with him at the time…But it’s like everything. Who do you blame for your brother’s death?”

Irma maintains that despite her family’s previous personal disputes with Keane she feels her brother still would have gone on his last tour.

“I think Ritchie would have gone off on that tour with our without Keane, so you could never really blame him for anything,” she said, “And I don’t think anybody should say it was Bob Keane’s fault that Ritchie died. Imagine what it must have felt like for Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper’s managers if people blamed them for everything.”

Norton said she cannot speculate what could have happened if things were done differently on the dark winter night in February of 1959 as the private plane Buddy Holly ordered for himself and his fellow stars flew through the sky.

She recalled her mother’s stories of how Ritchie would be sick with a cold on tour and how life on the road was exhausting, but she said she imagined his experience must have been very exciting for him, especially because he was only 17 when he began his rise to fame.

Valens’ cousin Ernie never had the privilege to meet his famous cousin but is a big admirer, often performing his work to audiences around the country. Most of what he knows about Ritchie comes from his mother’s stories.

“Ritchie would tell my mom ‘I’m sick and I miss home’ and she would tell him ‘Ya venga aqui ahora’ but he didn’t. He still did everything because he knew there was money to be made for us,” said Norton, who added Ritchie was very close to his mother, Concepcion Reyes, a single-mother after her divorce from their father and his untimely death.

Valens’ father, Steve Valenzuela, fought in World War II and was subjected to many dangerous gases and substances such as tear gas and napalm, which uncle Ray Reyes suspects may have been the cause of his early death when Ritchie was still a boy.

Even though Ritchie lived with his mother, he moved between Los Angeles and the Valley living with different uncles, but he spent much of his time with his uncle Ray’s family in Pacoima.

Uncle Ray also remembered his nephew’s love for music and the many guitars he made as a young boy.

“I remember he made a guitar out of a cigar box, it was just a little thing though,” he said, “And he loved to listen to a lot of Little Richard, the faster and heavier stuff.”

He said although Ritchie was Mexican-American and was aware of rock music’s blues origins, his musical taste was mainly set on rock ‘n’ roll.

“Me and my wife, Ernestine, were the ones who took him everywhere,” said Ray Reyes, referring to the many trips they took together around town and out to amusement parks such as Disneyland, where Ritchie once played a show.

He also recalled taking Ritchie Valens to many of his performances and supporting him with his musical goals, sometimes giving him advice.

“I used to stand right in front of him when he played,” Reyes said, “Sometimes I’d tell him not to go overboard because he put everything into it. He loved performing. He was pretty calm most of the time, but once he got on stage, he was somebody else.”

Ernie Reyes said his mother also played a big role in Ritchie’s musical career as well.

She penned the lyrics to the Mexican folk song “La Bamba” so he could learn the words so that he could record the song with his manager and producer Bob Keane, owner of Del-Fi Records.

The song became a #22 hit on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in early 1959.

“Mom used to tell me he’d practice a lot in the house and that he would play too loud,” said Ernie Reyes, who performs Ritchie’s songs in concert, and has played around the country with the likes of rock pioneer Chuck Berry.

He also said Ritchie would often ask his aunt Ernestine for her opinion after he wrote a new song.

“There’s a story my mom told me,” he said, “Ritchie played her ‘In A Turkish Town’ and she didn’t like it but after he came back with the recorded version he did with Bob Keane, mom said ‘It’s OK.’”

After Valens was signed to Keane’s record label in 1958, uncle Ray took Ritchie to his recording sessions.

“I thought Bob was very genuine,” Reyes said, “He was just trying to help Ritchie because he had great talent. He knew he could be somebody.”

Uncle Ray also speculated that Keane’s decision to change Ritchie’s last name from Valenzuela to Valens was a marketing strategy that had much to do with making him a crossover artist in the pop music world.

“I think Bob Keane made Ritchie change his last name because it was too long and to gain more mainstream acceptance,” he said, adding that the Latin American origins of his name could have caused many people at the time to overlook him as “just another Latin artist.”

Ernie Reyes said that part of what makes him look up to his late-great cousin was the passion that he put into his music.

“The way he got into his music and his style is what I’m into,” he said, adding that every time he performs Valens’ songs listeners always react positively and early rock fans often have recall their fond memories of the Valley rocker.

“If you think about it, there’s not too many 16 or 17 year olds that could sing like Ritchie or could perform like him, and that’s what made him amazing.”

Click Here For Ritchie Valens Articles Directory
Click Here For Ritchie Valens Directory