Hi everyone! A few of you on Facebook and on the Rockin’ 50s message board might know me as something of a researcher/writer (with an emphasis put on the former over the latter!) who has compiled a series of histories on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party of 1959, the General Artists Corporation tour on which rock and roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed en route from Mason City, Iowa to Fargo, North Dakota. These three books, entitled “Dancing As If There’s No Tomorrow,” comprise over seven hundred and fifty pages of literature on that doomed five act rock and roll tour. That is something I am quite proud of. Over the course of those three books I have interviewed well over one thousand people in some way associated with the Winter Dance Party – abbreviated for the sake of brevity by many as simply the WDP – and have used much of this material in my books. Looking ahead, I have two final books on the tour which will eventually see the light of day: One on the fateful plane crash which claimed the lives of Holly, Valens and the Bopper, and one on the post-crash WDP shows from February 3 – 15, 1959. In the interest in “getting to the point” and keeping it as short as I could without losing the dramatic thrust of my works, a LOT of editing went into the Dancing As If… books which required that large chunks of interviews were whittled down from their original form. As I type these words out, I am sitting at my work desk which holds within its drawers most of the interviews I have conducted from 1992 through 2014. To a one, none of these interviews has seen the light of day in an unedited form. I’d like to change that. Also, a lot happens between books, and many a time have I run into info that I would have loved to use in the work just published. “Updates” on such things as possible WDP posters existing for the Surf Ballroom show, the missing Bill Walters WDP tapes, etc. are all articles I have written and that are waiting to see the light of day. I am starting a three time a year periodical/newsletter which will, in part, present all of my WDP interviews in their full forms. This allows each interview the room to “breath” and to present to a reading audience the full and unadorned world of 1959. This was a world that in many ways was simpler than the one we find ourselves in now, but in other ways was much more complicated. It was the era of “everybody likes Ike,” hula hoops, “Leave It To Beaver,” and, of course, rock and roll. Within the pages of this twenty-thirty page newsletter I will be painting that world in a very clear way. While the focus will always be on the WDP and its performers, the background will be vividly painted and drawn. One of the ways into the world of the Dance Party and in order to better understand how such an ill-conceived rock and roll package show ever came into being, is by better understanding the times in which it took place. Along with my interviews, I will also be presenting documents and photographs to illustrate the WDP stars and the fans who attended their shows. In a world that has become all about social media such as Facebook, the Dancing As If…newsletter will be a throwback to earlier periodicals from the likes of Beecher and Griggs. This will be an actual paper document that will not be subject to technical issues or “crashes.” As such, this writer hopes to instill a sense of community within these pages by inviting participation from fans in the forms of questions, concerns or anything you would like to share with fellow fans. Each issue will contain a “Sell List” of WDP related items available for purchase. Along with that, all subscribers are welcome to submit their own “Want Lists” of items they covet. Let’s make it fun! The first issue of Dancing As If There’s No Tomorrow will ship on February 15, 2015, the fifty sixth anniversary of the very final WDP show back in 1959. I’m nothing if not a sucker for things that come full circle! Here in the US, a one year subscription will come to seventy dollars; overseas will be slightly higher at ninety dollars. This price does include shipping and handling. I will be accepting payment via PayPal. Simply send along an e-mail to buddyhollybuddyholly@hotmail and I will prepare a secured PayPal invoice. I will also accept checks, money orders or – at your own risk – cash. These can be sent to: Ryan Vandergriff 4919 48th Street Lubbock, Texas, 79414 On a personal note, I am quite excited about seeing the return of an “old school” periodical on Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson. This has been sorely missed by at least a few of us and I am very proud to offer up something new along these lines to the fans of these three wonderful performers! Thanks to you all for your interest and support and let’s have a Happy New Year! Bestest, Ryan Vandergriff
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:54:20 +0000
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