February 1959 in Music History

Events in Music

Music Concert

Feb 2 Buddy Holly's last performance at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa [1]

Feb 3 "The Day the Music Died" plane crash kills musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper), and the pilot. near Clear Lake, Iowa
Feb 5 "Redhead" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 455 performances
Feb 7 Mark Charlap and Norman Gimbel's musical "Whoop-Up", starring Julienne Marie and Sylvia Syms, closes at Shubert Theater, NYC, after 56 performances

Music Concert

Feb 20 Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle; fired from the band after the 1st set due to "wild" playing

Feb 28 "Goldilocks" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances

Birthdays in Music

Feb 1 Ottmar Liebert, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Nouveau Flamenco), born Cologne, Germany
Feb 3 (Laurence) "Lol" Tolhurst, British rock keyboardist and drummer/drum machine player (The Cure, 1978-89 - "Boys Don't Cry" "The Lovecats"), born in Horley, England
Feb 3 Yasuharu Konishi, Japanese musician, composer, and record producer (Pizzicato Five), born in Sapporo, Japan
Feb 6 Ken Nelson, English record producer, born in Liverpool, England
Feb 7 Brian Travers, British rock saxophonist (UB40 - "Red, Red Wine"), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2021)
Feb 12 Omar Hakim, American jazz-fusion and session drummer (Weather Report, 1982-86; Dire Straits - "Brothers In Arms"), arranger, and composer, born in NYC, New York
Feb 14 Anny Schilder, Dutch pop singer (BZN, 1976-84 - "Mon Amour"), born in Volendam, Netherlands
Feb 14 Renée Fleming, American opera singer & soprano, born in Indiana, Pennsylvania
Feb 15 Alistar "Ali" Campbell, British reggae vocalist and guitarist (UB40, 1978-2008 - "Red Red Wine"), born in Birmingham, England.
Feb 21 José María Cano, Spanish pop musician (Mecano, 1982-98 - "Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar"), composer (Luna), and visual artist, born in Madrid, Spain
Feb 23 Linda Nolan, Irish-British pop singer (The Nolans - "I'm In the Mood for Dancing"), and stage actress, born in Dublin, Ireland
Feb 25 Mike Peters, Welsh rock singer (Alarm - "Rain In the Summertime"; Big Country,2010-13), born in Prestatyn, Wales

Deaths in Music

Buddy Holly (1936-1959)

Feb 3 American rock and roll musician and songwriter ("Peggy Sue"; "That'll Be the Day"; "Words Of Love"), dies in a plane crash at 22 [1]

Feb 3 Ritchie Valens [Valenzuela], American rock singer ("Donna"; "La Bamba"), dies in plane crash at 17
Feb 3 The Big Bopper [Jiles Perry Richardson], American radio disc jockey, singer and songwriter (Chantilly Lace; White Lightning), dies in plane crash at 28
Feb 5 Curt Sachs, German musicologist, dies at 77
Feb 7 Guitar Slim [Eddie Jones], American blues guitarist (The Things That I Used to Do), dies at 32
Feb 12 George Antheil, American pianist, avant garde composer (Airplane Sonata; Ballet Mécanique), and inventor, dies at 58
Feb 13 William Axt, American film scores composer (The Prisoner of Zenda), dies at 70
Feb 14 Warren "Baby" Dodds, American jazz drummer, dies at 60
Feb 18 Alfred Alessandrescu, Romanian composer, dies at 65
Feb 18 Eric Zeisl, Austrian-American composer (Requiem Ebraico), dies of a heart attack at 53
Feb 18 Jaroslav Kvapil, Czech composer, dies at 66
Feb 20 Ray McDonald, American stage and screen tap dancer, dies choking on food at 38