Buddy Holly Signed 45 -- Last Known Item Autographed by Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, Acquired Just Before Fatal ...

Description

Buddy Holly Signed 45 -- Last Known Item Autographed by Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, Acquired Just Before Fatal 1959 Crash. It was Monday night, February 2, 1959: The line-up at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, included Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), Dion and the Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo.
"Good night! We've got a plane to catch but we'll be back in spring!" Holly declared after his final song "Brown Eyed Handsome Man". As the young musicians were leaving the Surf Ballroom, a teenager from Clear Lake named Jim Anderson -- waiting patiently between the dressing room and the exit -- persuaded Holly, Valens, the Bopper, and the other performers to sign the Buddy Holly 45 rpm vinyl record he received as one of the first fans admitted through the Surf's door that night. It was late, approximately 12:20am. Buddy, Ritchie Valens, and the Bopper then hopped into a car driven by the Surf's manager, leaving at approximately 12:30am, arriving at the Mason City airport at 12:40 am. Within 25 short minutes, the trio would be tragically killed in a fiery plane crash.

The last known item to be autographed collectively by Holly, Valens, and the Bopper is this teenager's signed 45 single. Only one other autographed 45 from that evening is known to exist. Those signatures, however, were acquired between sets.
Items from Buddy's last performance are not only rare but are, for the most part, non-existent. The Surf Ballroom performance was scheduled at the last minute -- there was simply no time to prepare any promotional posters or handbills. The 45 singles of Holly's new release "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"/"Raining In My Heart", were the only items handed out as promotions for that final show.
Rare is an understatement. Few items from that last performance exist, and this exceptional, signed 45 resonates with the personalities of these wondrously talented musicians, whose careers were tragically cut short minutes after they signed it.
This is a truly singular piece of Rock and Roll history... so historic, in fact, the signed 45 was showcased in the 2000 BBC documentary Rock Shrines -- Buddy Holly, featuring Jim Anderson's son Scott Anderson detailing the night's events while holding the precious 45, encased in a 12.5" x 12.5" double-sided frame. Jim Anderson gave the 45 to Scott in 1997 -- a strikingly appropriate gift, as Scott took over management of the Surf Ballroom the previous year.
Certified as authentic by PSA/DNA, the autographed 45 also has the blessing of Buddy Holly authorities Randy Steele and Bill Griggs, as well as Holly fans and experts around the world.
The 45 was also signed by Dion (of the Belmonts), his band mate Carlo Mastrangelo, and accompanying act Frankie Sardo. Included with the lot is a letter of authenticity from Scott Anderson tracing the history of the piece, from his father's encounter with the musicians on that tragic night, to the current consignor's possession of the extraordinary item. It's a cliché, but if only this item could talk! Accompanied by COA from PSA/DNA, an LOA from Scott Anderson, and VHS and DVD copies of the BBC documentary Rock Shrines -- Buddy Holly. Hear an interview with Bob Hale about this lot.

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