Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died in a plane crash just eight months after his breakthrough.
Robert Gaston Fuller was an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for "Let Her Dance" and his cover of the Crickets' "I Fought the Law," recorded with his group The Bobby Fuller Four.
The Bobby Fuller Four was a popular mid-1960s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. First formed in 1962 in Fuller's hometown of El Paso, Texas, the group went on to produce some of its most memorable hits under the Mustang Records label in Hollywood, California. The band's most successful songs include "Let Her Dance", "I Fought the Law" and "Love's Made a Fool of You".
La Bamba is a 1987 American biographical drama film written and directed by Luis Valdez. The film follows the life and short-lived musical career of American Chicano rock and roll star Ritchie Valens. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck and Joe Pantoliano. The film also covers the effect that Valens' career had on the lives of his half-brother Bob Morales, his girlfriend Donna Ludwig, and the rest of his family. The film is titled after a traditional Mexican folk song of the same name, which Valens transformed into a rock and roll rendition in 1958.
"La Bamba" is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, also known as "La Bomba". The song is best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens, a Top 40 hit on the U.S. charts. Valens's version is ranked number 345 on Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is the only song on the list not written or sung in English.
The Keane Brothers was an American pop music duo from 1976–82, composed of pre-teens, Tom Keane on piano and John Keane on drums. The duo released four albums and briefly hosted a television variety show on CBS. The brothers subsequently went on to solo careers as songwriters and music producers.
Robert Verrill Kuhn , professionally known as Bob Keane, and also sometimes known as Bob Keene, was an American musician, producer and the founder and owner of the record label Del-Fi Records. He was the producer and manager of Ritchie Valens and Pinoy star Josephine Roberto, aka Banig.
René Joseph Hall was an American guitarist and arranger. He was among the most important behind-the-scenes figures in early rock and roll, but his career spanned the period from the late 1920s to the late 1980s, and encompassed multiple musical styles.
"Donna" is a song written by Ritchie Valens, featuring a I IV V chord progression. The song was released in 1958 on Del-Fi Records. Written as a tribute to his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig, it was Valens' highest-charting single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year.
Ritchie Valens is the debut album by American musician Ritchie Valens, released by Del-Fi Records on January 12, 1959. It is his only studio album entirely composed of master tracks recorded at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. The album peaked at #23 on the US Billboard album chart.
Ritchie Valens Memorial Album is the first greatest hits compilation by Ritchie Valens, featuring his first three charted hits plus tracks from the previous three albums, released three years following his death in a plane crash. The original album was issued with a black album cover and the same photo of Valens from his second album Ritchie. A few months later, the album was retitled Ritchie Valens, His Greatest Hits and repackaged with a white album cover and a photo of Ritchie taken from his Del-Fi EP Ritchie Valens Sings (DFEP-1111). Both issues include the same back cover and album contents.
Ritchie Valens...His Greatest Hits Volume 2 is the second greatest hits compilation by Ritchie Valens. This follow-up to the Ritchie Valens Memorial Album/His Greatest Hits includes twelve tracks from the three original albums. Three tracks were previously issued on the first greatest hits package: "Donna", "La Bamba" and "Cry, Cry, Cry".
History of Ritchie Valens is a 3-record box set by Ritchie Valens released in 1985, featuring his three original Del-Fi albums plus a booklet with biography and photos.
The Best of Ritchie Valens is a greatest hits package by Ritchie Valens.
"Let Her Dance" is a song by the Bobby Fuller Four. It was the group's fourth single under Del-Fi Records, and the first to achieve national attention.
Jim Pewter is an American radio DJ, songwriter, producer, liner notes author, and an authority about pop, rock, surf music/surf rock, rockabilly, doo wop, oldies, and jazz. Pewter was host of the daily radio program The Jim Pewter Show, heard worldwide on Armed Forces Radio and Television Service for thirty-plus years, and his show was the first music show to be broadcast to American troops serving in Desert Storm.
James Gordon Reese, Jr., simply known as Jim Reese, was an American musician and a longtime member of the famed rock and roll band, The Bobby Fuller Four. Being virtuosic at a variety of instruments, he is perhaps best known for his guitar work. He provided backing vocals and rhythm guitar to the Bobby Fuller Four's hit, "I Fought the Law."
Steve Stanley is an American music historian, reissue producer, graphic artist, musician, and the founder of Now Sounds, a reissue record label established in 2007 and distributed by Cherry Red Records.
The El Caminos are a Japanese surf music band who were formed in the 1990s. They had an album that charted in the late 1990s.
Ersi Arvizu, is an American singer and composer who was famous in the 1960s as part of The Sisters, the first girl-group singing and recording Chicano rock music. Until 1970 she was the lead singer of El Chicano. She is notable for her contribution to Chicano music. After a break from singing while she trained boxers and was a lightweight professional fighter herself, she was rediscovered by a well-known music producer. She lent her voice to his hit album Chávez Ravine. Her first solo album was then produced by him as her singing career resumed.
