Talk:Ritchie Valens

The Official Site and Fan Forum Pages Have Both Expired

You would think that someone who genuinely appreciates this music -- especially La Bamba --might pay 30 or 40 dollars and reinstate the Ritchie Valens website(s) linked to the Wiki article... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.217.176.231 (talk) 18:08, 24 October 2010 (UTC)

Poor writing/editing

I'm disappointed with the quality of the writing, editing and fact checking on this page. I just corrected several glaring grammatical errors and saw many more style and grammar errors that I didn't have time to touch. Could someone with at least an eighth grade education please consider cleaning up this page? It's a shame that such an influential musician's Wikipedia entry is such an atrocity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.150.27.130 (talk) 13:29, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Legacy

Valen's legacy is far,far more than just being one of those who perished in the Day the Music Died. He is without a doubt the father of Latin Rock/Alternative. Before Charly Garcia and Alex Lora he brought Latin Rock to the mainstream. What Enrique Guzman et al. where doing was merely translating English langauge songs into Spanish. Yes, Valens's best known song is a cover but La Bamba is one of the most influential recordings ever made. Blending traditional Latin American music is something that would prove to be what sets Latin Rock apart as a seperate genre and not just rock sung in Spanish with nothing new to add.

When Valens was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ricky Martin was chosen to sing some of his songs in his honor. Now I have absolutely nothing against Ricky Martin or his music (in fact I like the guy) but this was an incorrect decision. Martin was obviously chosen because he is Latino but other than that he and Valens have nothing in common. Ricky Martin is pop, Ritchie Valens was rock. Were Gustavo Cerati, Los Lobos, Julieta Venegas, the former members of Los Prisioneros,and La Ley all busy that night? Let's honor Valen's legacy by remembering his music for what is was. Thank you, Ritchie. - User:Mymelody 16:52, 17 November 2006)

• Let's also honor him by using his real name which is Ricardo Valenzuela. 71.149.244.74 21:04, 27 December 2006

Family

Additional information about Ritchie's mom & dad, siblings should be added to his bio. Pedianut 04:00, 9 February 2007 (UTC) Ritchies parents are Joseph Steven Valenzuela and Concepcion "Connie" Valenzuela. They lived in San Fernando Valley for a while until they both divorced in 1944.Iperezc23 (talk) 05:52, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Of Yaqui Descent

He is of partial Yaqui descent —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.94.209.180 (talk • contribs) 23:30, 14 April 2007

His great-grandfather was a full blooded Yaqui.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.228.147.84 (talk • contribs)

We'd need a source. DonIago (talk) 21:27, 7 January 2019 (UTC)

Question about Valens manager

I noted the following in the segment about his manager:

Similarly, it was Keane who decided to shorten his surname to Valens from Valenzuela, with the intention that a Latino name would make the DJs think that it was Latino music for a Latino audience - Keane wanted Ritchie's appeal to audiences of all kinds to be in the songs themselves.

While I'm no expert on Valens, I have never heard that his manager was a ... It's not on the Wikipage for his manager either. However, I thought I would make sure there is some basis for this before deleting it. If it's not true, then it is certainly defamation and should be removed. JimZDP 00:46, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Side Note: Bob Keene was Richie's manager and still lives in the beach area of the So Bay in So Cal.

Having talked with Bob at length about those days, and researching has shown me that Bob Keane is the Real McCoy. A true pioneer in the birth of Rock and Roll. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zbestwun2001 (talk • contribs) 18:19, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

rearranged legacy section

i did it because it did not emphasize what was his most notable successes and why they were important. I shifted the info about burial and hall of fame stuff to the end of this section for that reason.Kitten b 06:31, 2 September 2007 (UTC)kitten b

Citations & References

See Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags Nhl4hamilton (talk) 04:49, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Contradictory

The article appears to contradict itself. Evidence:

"One day, a neighbor came across Ritchie trying to play a guitar that had only two strings. He re-strung the instrument, and taught Ritchie the fingerings of some chords." - Career, Paragraph I

"A completely self-taught musician," - Career, Paragraph III

Marikun (talk) 01:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Blinding Snowstorm

In this article, the weather in which Ritchie Valens met his demise is described as a "blinding snowstorm." The weather description in the Buddy Holly article is described as a "light snow and gusty winds." How can the same air crash happen in two different levels of weather severity? ````

People born in America are Americans

Ritchie Valens was American not some guy who was of "Mexican Origins born in the U.S".

I have changed that part since everyone on wikipedia who was born in America are known as Americans and i do not see how being of Mexican decent excludes Ritchie Valens or makes him less of an American. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nothingbutgrains (talk • contribs) 01:42, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I keep having to change that back. Must have missed one. Thanks for taking care of it. →Wordbuilder (talk) 02:47, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

I changed the introductory section to mention him as a "Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist" and removed the reference to his Mexican descent in "Early Life" since it seemed somewhat awkward. He's mentioned this way in the Rock Hall of Fame - http://rockhall.com/inductees/ritchie-valens/bio/. I agree, no one born in the U.S. is "of Mexican origins" - hopefully this is adequate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.139.18.183 (talk) 19:45, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

Looking from a distance, I see two separate issues: on the one hand USA <==> "American", on the other hand whether or how to refer to his origins. My own wording would be "RV was a US-an singer of Mexican parents" , or perhaps "with Latin roots". As I learned at school "America" includes both Mexico and the USA! But I am a long way off, and I know the subject is delicate so I will not enter into edit wars. Jan olieslagers (talk) 20:12, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

This is kind of irritating. My father was born in the Netherlands, does that make me "Dutch-American?" Valens was born in the US. He is American. If one must insist on referencing his ethnicity as well as his nationality, then he is an American Latino. Whether for pride or prejudice, this labeling is factually erroneous...and it's made triply irritating by knowing that I can't just fix it because it'll turn into a revert war. I miss when this used to be a quality information source. 173.46.242.185 (talk) 07:55, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Spanish

I find it interesting that, according to the article, Ritchie Valens spoke very little Spanish. (Someone ought to provide a reference regarding this.) Can native speakers of Spanish tell us whether they hear a heavy English accent in Valens's recorded rendition of "La Bamba"? Nadia Caraiani (talk) 23:12, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

I am a native Spanish speaker I noticed after listening to a live version of "La Bamba", that Ritchie had an English accent and it is also noticeable that he learned the lyrics phonetically. He remind me of Michael Jackson singing in Spanish. Also, the version of "La Bamba" that he sings is a much shorter version of the original folkoric

song He also skips some words form the original lyrics. 186.75.82.3 (talk) 15:38, 22 August 2022 (UTC)

I am a native Spanish speaker and I can assure he had a perfert accent singing La Bamba. By the way, accoding other sources his name was Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes. or simply Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela is you do not use the Hispanic naming system. --87.219.20.147 (talk) 15:50, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Coin toss

Admittedly there are varying versions of this story, with even Dion DiMucci claiming to be the person who took part in the coin toss with Valens - however, most sources say it was Tommy Allsup. Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane for J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson because the latter had a cold. MFlet1 (talk) 16:09, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

Unsourced material

Article has been tagged for needing sources long-term. Feel free to reinsert the below material with appropriate references. DonIago (talk) 12:41, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

Early life

==Early life== His parents were Joseph Steven Valenzuela and Concepción Reyes. He was of Mexican and Yaqui descent. Brought up listening to traditional Mexican mariachi music, flamenco guitar, R&B and jump blues, he expressed an interest in making music of his own by the age of 5. He was encouraged by his father to take up the guitar and trumpet at the age of nine, and he later taught himself the drums. One day, a neighbor came across Ritchie trying to play a guitar that had only two strings. He re-strung the instrument and taught Ritchie the fingerings of some chords. While Ritchie was left-handed, he was so eager to learn the guitar that he mastered the traditionally right-handed version of the instrument.

Career

Valens had been at his grandfather Frank Reyes' funeral that day, but was upset about the loss of his friends. He eventually overcame his fear enough to travel by airplane for his career. He went to Philadelphia to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show on October 6, where he sang "Come On, Let's Go". In November, Valens flew to Hawaii, where he performed alongside Buddy Holly and Paul Anka. Valens was added to the bill of legendary disc jockey Alan Freed's Christmas Jubilee in New York City, singing with some of those who had greatly influenced his music, including Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Duane Eddy, Eddie Cochran, and Jackie Wilson. On December 27, he returned to Philadelphia and American Bandstand, this time performing "Donna". After returning to Los Angeles, Valens filmed an appearance in Alan Freed's movie Go, Johnny, Go! In the film, he appears in a diner miming his song "Ooh! My Head", using a Gretsch 6120 guitar, the same model Eddie Cochran owned. Between the live appearances, Valens returned to Gold Star Studios several times, recording the tracks that would comprise his two albums. In early 1959, Valens was traveling the Midwest on a multiple-act rock-and-roll tour dubbed "The Winter Dance Party". Accompanying him were Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Frankie Sardo. All performers were augmented by Holly's new backup band, including Tommy Allsup on guitar, Waylon Jennings on bass, and Carl Bunch on drums. Conditions on the tour buses were abysmal and bitterly cold. Midwest weather took its toll on the party. Carl Bunch had to be hospitalized with severely frostbitten feet, and several others, including Valens and the Big Bopper, caught the flu. The show was split into two acts, with Valens closing the first act. After Bunch was hospitalized, Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts took over the drumming duties. When Dion and the Belmonts were performing, the drum seat was taken by either Valens or Buddy Holly. A surviving color photograph shows Valens at the drum kit. Black-and-white photos found in 2014 taken by Mary Gerber on February 2, 1959, which are on display at the Surf Ballroom, show Buddy Holly playing drums for Dion as Holly's drummer had frostbitten feet.

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 external links on Ritchie Valens. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090111205838/http://www.dailybreeze.com:80/rave/articles/1649567.html?showAll=y&c=y to http://www.dailybreeze.com/rave/articles/1649567.html?showAll=y&c=y
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/20120207001836/http://www.articlestree.com/music/the-day-the-music-died-tx390707.html to http://www.articlestree.com/music/the-day-the-music-died-tx390707.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers. —^{cyberbot II}_{Talk to my owner:Online} 09:41, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

wikipedia reference: RITCHIE VALENS, FIRST LATINO ROCKER. author, Beverly Mendheim (book)

07/09/2016 22:08 - BEVERLY MENDHEIM wrote: > *TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:* > *Today, I noticed that my book, Ritchie Valens, First Latino Rocker, was missing from the WIKIPEDIA references.*

*Please note and insert the following"*

> *RITCHIE VALENS FIRST LATINO ROCKER* > *author: Beverly Mendheim* > *Bilingual Review Press, Arizona State University, 1987, 2002* >> *Thank you.* 24.56.249.128 (talk) 01:16, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Your book is not currently used as a reference for any information in the article, so it is not appropriate to list your book. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 02:02, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

Perhaps a less belligerent approach along the lines of As a reference that might be useful for this article. As you are the author I advise against you adding this as a reference, but one of the other editors may do so. David notMD (talk) 03:27, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

Nobody is being belligerent here, David notMD. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 04:52, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

Ritchie Valens: The First Latino Rocker by Beverly Mendheim Publisher: Bilingual Review Press (1987, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 0916950794 ISBN-13: 978-0916950798

Birth Name

Article is contradictory. In two places it states his birth name was Richard Steven Valenzuela (actually three places, as the photo of his gravestone also says Richard Steven Valenzuela). In the Infobox it states it was Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela (with the hyphenate Reyes, from his mother). I think the evidence is on the former and will change the infobox. Sir Rhosis (talk) 21:43, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

Name

Following this edit by EdmundT, I was surprised to find a "T" in this article's title. The source I used for that edit in question certainly spells it "Richie", and indeed a random Google search seems to have a mix of things. However a books search (which is more likely to contain reliable and trustworthy sources) has numerous hits for "Richie". I do tend to notice if somebody's got the same name (with the same spelling as me) or not! Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 22:53, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

The highest quality sources say "Ritchie". His albums use the spelling "Ritchie". Both book-length biographies use the spelling "Ritchie". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame uses the spelling "Ritchie". The New York Times used the spelling "Ritchie" when he died in 1959 and when they reviewed the 1987 film La Bamba. The "Richie" spelling is used in various passing mentions when careful proofreading and fact checking is less likely. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 23:15, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

Well you learn something new everyday! I wonder how I've managed to miss this for about 30+ years? :-/ Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 23:18, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

Now we both know, Ritchie. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 01:17, 5 July 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

• Ritchie Valens đang biểu diễn bản La bamba.png

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:52, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

Evaluation

Can you identify any notable equity gaps? Does the article underrepresent or misrepresent historically marginalized populations?

I noticed that the article overall had some missing components regarding Ritchie Valens life. I believe that the individual is being underrepresented in the way where those who read are missing out on who Ritchie Valens is! There needs to be more on his family, personal life, as well as on his legacy that he left and how it has impact individuals, and music in general. I would like to know and have more on his impact on today's society as well! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aortizvaldez01 (talk • contribs) 05:36, 17 April 2022 (UTC)

Image

@Cookie&1134557: I see you have reverted my edit to this article where I removed the image that you uploaded and reinserted the older image. You also haven't addressed the concerns raised by other editors who reverted your edits, as can be seen in this article's history and on your talk page. I have removed your uploaded image again. Please discuss these changes on this talk page first per WP:COMMUNICATE. — Nythar (💬-🍀) 09:15, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• AmericanBandstandRitchieValens.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:08, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Higher quality image

Hi there. I am not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have a higher quality version of the public domain image that's currently the main photo for the Ritchie Valens page if you would like to use that instead. https://i.imgur.com/ta8vv03.png 2603:8000:F000:E3:7890:697B:7E68:FF04 (talk) 22:06, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

The reason we can say that the current image is in the public domain, is because it's an ad in billboard without a copyright notice (per C:template:PD-US-no notice ad). While it's possible (and probably likely) that the full image is in the public domain, it would need a different PD rational (such as c:Template:PD-US-no notice, or others at c:Commons:Hirtle chart) and that would need to be individually proved. If you think you can prove that for that particular image, I would recommend you upload it to commons (C:Special:UploadWizard). Cakelot1 ☞️ talk 23:49, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

I see. Thank you. Do you know how I can go about proving its public domain status? This is all pretty new to me and would like to help anyway I can. 104.173.30.10 (talk) 19:49, 21 November 2023 (UTC)