Album of the Day

On this day in 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash, an event remembered as “The Day The Music Died Day.” Though Valens' life was short, he cast a long shadow for Latino rockers, particularly in his native Los Angeles, so when biopic producers wanted to recreate eight of Ritchie's songs, they turned to L.A.'s own Los Lobos. While the film includes some fine period music, the new recordings on the LA BAMBA soundtrack are truly something special; Los Lobos' versions of “Come On, Let's Go” and the title track became two of the band's biggest hits (Marshall Crenshaw and Brian Setzer also offer wonderful covers of Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran classics, respectively). A feel-good look at the early days of rock 'n' roll, both the movie and its music were successful – LA BAMBA (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) reached No.1 on the Billboard album chart.