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My Essential Songs: Ritchie Valens

B.1941 - D.1959

By Annie KapurPublished 5 years ago 6 min read
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Ritchie Valens Performing on Stage

Ritchie Valens, Godfather of Chicano Rock and one of the greatest vocalists to ever live was a pioneer of classic 1950s music and one hell of a guitarist. His songs are severely underrated but I want to share with you one of my favourite singers in the whole world. As you know, Ritchie Valens was taken from us early—aged only 17-years'-old, he died in the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. He was the youngest to die in the crash.

Ritchie Valens was one of the most incredible musicians ever and I think he really does deserve more recognition for being so young and yet, he was able to sing and compose his own songs, some of which are still very famous today. (Shout out to the Mexican Restaurant near me that only knows how to play "La Bamba").

Unlike the others I've done, I can't cover 100 songs by this guy because he didn't have the time to do 100 songs. So I'm going to get you started with Ritchie Valens by having you take a look at my top 20 essential tracks to play. But first, please watch this video of Chuck Berry being supportive of Ritchie Valens whilst he sings Ooh, My Head, it's brilliant:

Okay, so it's time for me to go through my top twenty Ritchie Valens' songs isn't it? Of course it is. There will be a (*) sign to indicate a cover song performed by him and there will also be my rambling occasionally. So please, let's move along:

20. "Let's Rock and Roll" - (unfinished)

There's something really sad about this song being unfinished and something quite haunting about it. If you listen to the Complete Ritchie Valens then the first few seconds where there's an overview of the song will just make you feel so sad. This song is described as being like another "Come on, Let's go" and probably would've been great if Ritchie Valens had lived.

19. "Ritchie's Blues"18. "Little Girl" 17. "Rockin' All Night" 16. "That's My Little Suzie" 15. "We Belong Together" 14. "Now You're Gone" 13. "Framed"

I absolutely love this song. The verses sound like he's talking to you and the chorus is so damn catchy it's unreal. To think he made this sort of song at that young age is absolutely crazy. I really hope you have as much fun listening to this as I do, it's one of my favourite songs by him.

12. "Cry, Cry, Cry"

11. "Stay Beside Me"

10. "Hi-Tone"

I love this song so much because it's one of those songs that you can listen to on repeat. It's got some of Ritchie's best vocals in there and the song is so damn catchy. I love the way this song sounds so much like the swing songs straight out of the 1950s.

9. "Hurry Up"

This is Ritchie Valens having a bit of light-hearted fun with his songs. I love this song as well, it's actually another one of my favourites by him. This song is lyrically brilliant and it fits the music perfectly. The song starts by making fun of how long girls take to get ready: "Hurry up, or I'll get another date..." It's funny as hell and you really need to listen to it. Pure brilliance from Ritchie Valens.

8. "Summertime Blues" (*)

This was performed live and in my opinion, it is superior version. I am sorry Eddie Cochran, but I love Ritchie Valens so much more and this version was absolutely brilliant.

7. "Bony-Maronie" (*)

Again, he covered a song and made a superior version, this song is so much better than the original that it actually must hurt to know a 17-year-old covered your song better than you. I love Ritchie's version of this song because it has so much more soul than the original. I like the original too, but Ritchie Valens' version is superior.

6. "Ooh, My Head"

This song is absolutely brilliant, it's a rockin' classic and has so much soul. If you watched the video earlier on, you'll know exactly how great this song is. It's these songs that make me cry for the fact that he didn't live longer. This song is pure 1950s greatness and well, he would be as old as Bob Dylan if he lived today—just think about how great he could be if his catalogue already included this song.

5. "La Bamba"

I don't think I need to talk about this one. Radios still play it and people still know all the words to it, regardless of whether they actually speak the language or not. If you're having that impact at that age then you've already made it. I think he'd be happy to see what's happened to the song. It absolutely blew up. It's quite possibly one of the most recognised songs in history and yet still I need to make this article. You know the song, but you may not always know who sung it.

4. "Bluebirds Over the Mountains"

Another one of my favourite songs by Ritchie Valens. This is a really special song because it's different to a lot of others. It's slow, it's steady and it's Ritchie Valens showing he can do smooth - it's the exact opposite to Ooh, My Head. But it's just as powerful.

3. "In a Turkish Town"

Just like Bluebirds Over the Mountains, this song is a smooth ballad, and again it's one of my favourite songs by him. The song is beautiful to listen to and there's a real story behind it. I loved the way he could create such different sounds even though he mainly played Rock and Chicano Rock. This song is an underrated achievement.

2. "Donna"

A #2 in America and an internationally renowned song to this day, Donna has become one of the world's greatest love songs. It's remembered for being one of the best songs to come out of the 1950s and also a great steady ballad. Donna is a timeless song that only needs to be listened to in order to be appreciated. It is a beautiful song.

1. "Come on, Let's Go"

One of Ritchie Valens' greatest achievements, Come on, Let's go is a swingin' classic and literally sounds like one of the greatest songs you'll ever hear. It proves to you that between this and Bluebirds Over the Mountain, this guy can literally create and sing absolutely anything and everything. They don't call him the Godfather of Chicano Rock for no reason. He's a genius for creating something like this.

Conclusion

I adore Ritchie Valens because his singing voice and his sound were not only way ahead of his time but, given if he lived, there would be many artists without a damn chance. He was powerful, he was talented, he was awe-inspiring, he had presence and he could command the damn stage. His voice was probably the best thing about it all. Just listen to him, and thank you for reading the article:

playlist
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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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