It has been told many times before. . . .

On the bus ride to Clear Lake, Buddy Holly decided he'd had enough of the road. The boys hadn't had their laundry cleaned for days. And he envisioned a comfortable bed and a good night's sleep if only he could fly after the Surf Ballroom show to Fargo, North Dakota, just across the Red River from Moorhead, their next destination, some 400 miles northwest of Clear Lake.

Upon his arrival there, Buddy asked the Surf Ballroom manager to charter a flight...