The music hasn’t died at Surf Ballroom in Iowa
The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA has hosted a Dance Party every year since 1979 to honor the “day the music died.” The 2018 Winter Dance Party will take place Tuesday, Jan. 31 to Friday, Feb. 3
In the winter of 1959 a group of young men set off across the Upper Midwest to bring the new music called rock ‘n’ roll to small cities. Buddy Holly was headlining the tour, and he was the impetus behind it. Although he had already scored No. 1 hits, such as “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” he was interested in doing record production and needed to raise cash. He packed his guitar for the road and left behind his band, the Crickets.
Joining him on the caravan were other stars, such as Ritchie Valens (“La Bamba” and “Donna”), J.P. Richardson – known as The Big Bopper (“Chantilly Lace”), Dion and the Belmonts (“I Wonder Why” and “A Teenager in Love”), and up-and-coming singers Frankie Sardo, Waylon Jennings, and Tommy Allsup.
The tour was called “Winter Dance Party,” and it began in Milwaukee before heading to such places Mankato, MN; Green Bay, WI; and Davenport, IA, before ending up in Clear Lake, IA, a city that had a good venue for music, the already venerable Surf Ballroom.
Everyone knows what happened next. Instead of driving, Holly, Valens, and The Big Bopper opted to fly to the next location, Fargo, ND. The weather was extremely cold and snowy. Nevertheless, the three boarded a small Beechcraft plane that barely made it past takeoff, crashing in a farmer’s field six miles outside of Clear Lake. Don McLean immortalized the event as “the day the music died.”
The music known as rock ‘n’ roll never died, however, nor did the Winter Dance Party. On Feb. 3, 1979, the Surf Ballroom held its first tribute concert to the event, and every year since then the musical oblation has continued. This is no small show but a four-day event that encompasses art, film, dancing, and big evening concerts, usually by a group of entertainers who have been around since the early years of rock ‘n’ roll.
The Winter Dance Party sells out annually because people come back, sometimes for 10 or 20 years. Margaret Majerczik, originally from England but now living in Iowa, has been bringing groups of British fans to the event almost since it was resurrected in 1979.
“I grew up in Liverpool, and the bands that eventually became famous, like The Beatles, all began playing American music in the local clubs,” Majerczik said. “It brings back all the memories of my childhood. If I had to come using a walker, I would.”
The big nights for the event are Thursday and Saturday.
