Buddy Holly died on February 19th, 1999.
Buddy Holly ( born Charles Hardin Holley ; September 7 , 1936 -- February 3 , 1959 ) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll . On February 3 , 1959 , rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens , and J. P. `` The Big Bopper '' Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake , Iowa , together with pilot Roger Peterson .