Well basically these guys (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens) were the next generation of rock and roll in the 1950s, Ritchie rose to fame when he was just 17..
He was most famous for his song 'La Bamba' after being told by his manager "It's a folk song, it won't be good" Ritchie still sang it at one of his concerts and it was a huge hit.
His first record 'Come on let's go' sold 1 million copies..
He died in a plane crash in Iowa in which he was flying in a blizzard, the plane crashed shortly after take off.. at 17 he was the youngest to die along with Buddy Holly, the pilot and The Big Bopper.
R.I.P to all of them. Their music still lives on.. (Me and Matt know it ofc)