“the day the music died”

This is from Garrison Keillors Writers Almanac: It's
"the day the music died," the day in 1959 when Buddy Holly was killed in a plane
crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, along with Ritchie Valens (who sang
"La Bamba") and J.P. Richardson (known as "The Big
Bopper"). Buddy Holly's career as a rock star only lasted a year and a
half, but he recorded "Peggy Sue," "Everyday,"
"That'll Be the Day," "Oh, Boy!" and many more hits. Buddy
Holly was 22 years old when he died.