Released 1972 Label United Artists "I'm Ready"
(12) "Three Stars" | Recorded 1959 Writer(s) Tommy Dee "Three Stars" "Cotton Picker"
(14) | |
"Three Stars" is a song written by Tommy Dee in 1959, as a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), who died in a plane crash earlier that year. The song was recorded by Tommy Dee with Carol Kay and first released on April 5, 1959 by Crest Records. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. However the song was on Billboard and the airways by March 30, 1959.
Contents
The lyrics suggested the three "stars" represent the three musicians that died in the crash.
Eddie Cochran version
A year after Eddie Cochran recorded the song, he died in a car accident on his way to an airport. Although recorded in 1959, Cochran's version was not released until 1966 as a UK single and for the first time in the US on the album Legendary Masters Series. Cochran audibly breaks into sobs in his recording, most notably in the second verse.
Other versions
"Three Stars" was also covered by: