Surf Ballroom
Encyclopedia
The Surf Ballroom is a Historic Rock and Roll Landmark
at 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake
, Iowa
. The Surf is closely associated with The Day the Music Died
- early rock and roll
stars Buddy Holly
, Ritchie Valens
, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson
gave their last performances at the Surf on February 2, 1959 as part of the "Winter Dance Party Tour". On September 6, 2011, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
.
of 2,100 and a 6300 square feet (585.3 m²) dance floor. Attached to the building is the Surfside 6 Cafe. The facility includes a museum of music memorabilia and a Hall of Fame of the many famous artists who performed at the venue.
The Surf Ballroom is currently owned by the Snyder family of Clear Lake and is open to the public daily. The exterior of the ballroom, and the neighborhood around it, has changed very little since the 1950s. Backstage, in an area known as "The Green Room," acts that have played in the ballroom, such as Little River Band
, Loverboy
, The Righteous Brothers
, The Temptations
, The Beach Boys
, Waylon Jennings
and Bobby Rydell
have signed their names on the whitewashed walls, as well as have had photos of themselves placed on a wall alongside those of early rock and roll pioneers.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum designated the Surf Ballroom a historical landmark on January 27, 2009. The ceremony giving landmark status to the site kicked off a week-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the February 2, 1959, "Winter Dance Party" concert and the tragic incident of February 3, 1959.
airport and chartered a small plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota
to prepare for their show at the Moorhead Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota
.
The plane took off at 12:55 AM Central Time on Tuesday February 3, 1959. Shortly after takeoff young pilot Roger Peterson
, in a combination of spatial disorientation and misinterpretion of a flight instrument, flew the plane into the ground, killing everyone aboard.
A concrete monument was erected outside the Surf and the ballroom is adorned with large pictures of the three musicians. A street flanking the facility's east property line is named Buddy Holly Place in his honor.
Historic Rock and Roll Landmark
Historic Rock and Roll Landmarks is a program administered by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio through its Landmark Series to designate structures or locations that have played an important roll in rock and roll history.-Listings:...
at 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake
Clear Lake, Iowa
Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,161 at the 2000 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The Surf is closely associated with The Day the Music Died
The Day the Music Died
On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll pioneers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean, in his song...
- early rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
stars Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....
, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star...
gave their last performances at the Surf on February 2, 1959 as part of the "Winter Dance Party Tour". On September 6, 2011, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The Surf Ballroom was originally built in 1933, burned down in 1947, and rebuilt in 1948, across the street from its original location. It still hosts numerous events and has a seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 2,100 and a 6300 square feet (585.3 m²) dance floor. Attached to the building is the Surfside 6 Cafe. The facility includes a museum of music memorabilia and a Hall of Fame of the many famous artists who performed at the venue.
The Surf Ballroom is currently owned by the Snyder family of Clear Lake and is open to the public daily. The exterior of the ballroom, and the neighborhood around it, has changed very little since the 1950s. Backstage, in an area known as "The Green Room," acts that have played in the ballroom, such as Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
, Loverboy
Loverboy
Loverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
, The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
, The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
and Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell is an American professional singer, mainly of rock and roll music. In the early 1960s he was considered a so-called "teen idol"...
have signed their names on the whitewashed walls, as well as have had photos of themselves placed on a wall alongside those of early rock and roll pioneers.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum designated the Surf Ballroom a historical landmark on January 27, 2009. The ceremony giving landmark status to the site kicked off a week-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the February 2, 1959, "Winter Dance Party" concert and the tragic incident of February 3, 1959.
The Day the Music Died
Holly, Valens and Richardson left the Surf immediately after the show. They went to the nearby Mason CityMason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
airport and chartered a small plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
to prepare for their show at the Moorhead Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
.
The plane took off at 12:55 AM Central Time on Tuesday February 3, 1959. Shortly after takeoff young pilot Roger Peterson
Roger Peterson (pilot)
Roger Arthur Peterson was a 21-year-old pilot of the aircraft whose crash took the lives of rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson as well as himself...
, in a combination of spatial disorientation and misinterpretion of a flight instrument, flew the plane into the ground, killing everyone aboard.
A concrete monument was erected outside the Surf and the ballroom is adorned with large pictures of the three musicians. A street flanking the facility's east property line is named Buddy Holly Place in his honor.