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Tommy Allsup, Former Buddy Holly Guitarist, Dies At Age 85

Coin Toss Kept Him Off The Airplane That Went Down On 'The Day The Music Died'

By losing a coin toss, Tommy Allsup had a long life.

The former guitarist for Buddy Holly passed away last week at a hospital in Springfield, MO due to complications from a hernia operation. He was 85.

Allsup famously lost a coin toss on Feb. 3, 1959, and was not aboard an airplane that went down near Clear Lake, IA with Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens on board. All three were fatally injured in the accident, which was memorialized by singer Don Mclean in his song "American Pie" as "the day the music died."

The Akron Beacon-Journal reports that Allsup's son Austin, also a singer and musician, said that his father had always looked at losing that coin toss backstage after a concert as a blessing. He said his dad had talked about it often, saying he was very lucky to be here.

Country music star Waylon Jennings was also in Holly's band at the time, but was not on the plane.

(Image from file)

FMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died

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