Everything Clear Lake is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Clear Lake.
The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last venue Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson ever played: the Winter Dance Party show on February 2, 1959, hours before the plane crash that killed them. The Surf still operates today, largely unchanged — the same stage and maple dance floor — and hosts an annual Winter Dance Party tribute that draws fans from around the world.
A few miles northwest of Clear Lake, Iowa, is the field where a Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in the early hours of February 3, 1959, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson. A memorial marks the site: a stainless-steel sculpture of Buddy Holly's horn-rimmed glasses and a steel record, created by Wisconsin artist Ken Paquette and placed in 1988, reached by a half-mile walk along a fence line through the cornfield. Fans visit year-round, leaving guitar picks and flowers.
Clear Lake, Iowa, is where rock and roll suffered its first great loss. Tired of freezing tour buses, Holly chartered a small plane to the next stop. Minutes after takeoff in the early hours of February 3, the Beechcraft Bonanza went down in a snowy field a few miles northwest of town, killing all three stars and the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. Holly was 22, the Big Bopper 28, and Valens just 17. Don McLean later immortalized it in 'American Pie' as 'the day the music died,' and the Surf Ballroom still stands as a shrine to that lost night.
The Clear Lake dance hall where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their final concert on February 2, 1959.
The site north of Clear Lake where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.
9 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Clear Lake, Iowa, is where rock and roll suffered its first great loss. Tired of freezing tour buses, Holly chartered a small plane to the next stop. Minutes after takeoff in the early hours of February 3, the…
The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last venue Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson ever played: the Winter Dance Party show on February 2, 1959, hours before the plane crash that…
This unassuming ballroom marks the end of an era – the spot where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their final concert. On February 1959, these rock and roll legends took the stage at the Surf…
The Clear Lake dance hall where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their final concert on February 2, 1959.
The site north of Clear Lake where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.
A few miles northwest of Clear Lake, Iowa, is the field where a Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in the early hours of February 3, 1959, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, and pilot Roger…
Pull over for a second and check out this house – it’s a piece of Prairie School architectural history right here in Mason City. This is the Curtis Yelland House, designed by William Eugene Drummond, an architect who…
Get ready to step back in time and see a true architectural masterpiece – this is the Dr. G.C. Stockman House, a Frank Lloyd Wright design right here in Mason City! Dr. George and Eleanor Stockman commissioned Wright to…
Imagine standing atop the highest point in northern Iowa, a landmark that has drawn people for centuries. Pilot Knob State Park, established in 1923, offers a glimpse into Iowa's glacial past and a chance to connect…