It's been 60 years since Buddy Holly and the Crickets graced the Duluth Armory stage on the 1959 Winter Dance Party tour. The tour had just made its second-longest haul — 368 miles from Fort Dodge, Iowa.
That was the night that Bob Dylan, then a young Hibbing high schooler named Robert Zimmerman, says he made eye contact with Holly. "He was great. He was incredible. I mean, I'll never forget the image of seeing Buddy Holly up on the bandstand," Dylan told Rolling Stone in 1984.
And it also was the night that the tour bus headed into the brutally cold Wisconsin night and broke down near Hurley, sending Holly's drummer, Carl Bunch, to the hospital with frostbite.
There will be better memories on Sunday night. The Armory Arts & Music Center is sponsoring a tribute concert to celebrate the revitalization of the historic Armory and "relive the energy of that cold night in 1959." Todd Eckart and his Band will perform Holly's music.
The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played their last show, is planning a string of concerts, including 20 acts, Wednesday and through Saturday night. On the list are several relatives of rock 'n' roll greats, including Valens' younger brother Mario Ramirez, who was 18 months old when Valens died. Others include Edan Everly, son of the late Don Everly; Jeff, Tom and Matt Vee, sons and nephew of the late Bobby Vee; Frank Avalon, oldest son of Frankie Avalon, and Austin Alsup, son of the late Tommy Alsup.
Pamela huey
