Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Richie Valens, Chicano rock and roll pioneer

Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenquela May 13, 1941 in Los Angeles, California, was a pioneer in rock and roll and a forefather of Chicano rock.  He scored several hits over his short career including La Bamba, which he adapted from a Mexican folk song.  He died February 3, 1959, in a plane crash when he was just 17 years old.  It was the same crash that killed Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson.  

He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.