Ritchie Valens net worth is $500 Thousand. Also know about Ritchie Valens bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

Ritchie Valens Wiki Biography

Richard Steven Valenzuela was born on 13 May 1941, in Pacoima, California, USA, of Mexican descent. Ritchie was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known for being one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll. He is also the father of the Chicano rock movement, and all of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was before his untimely death.

How rich was Ritchie Valens? As of late-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $500,000, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. He had several hits, including “La Bamba” which was released in 1958. He is a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and his death is known as “The Day the Music Died”. All of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.

While growing up, Valens listened to a lot of mariachi, flamenco, blues and R&B muisic. He expressed his intentions of making his own music at a young age, and was encouraged by his father to learn the guitar, but he also learned the trumpet and the drums. At the age of 16, he joined his first band called the Silhouettes as a guitarist. When their vocalist left the group, he became the main vocalist and they made their debut with him as a singer in 1957. He attended Pacoima Junior High School and would perform with his friends there.

He became very popular especially due to his improvisational skills. He had the nickname “Little Richard of San Fernando” and would later attract the attention of Bob Keane. He invited Ritchie to an audition, and the singer was then signed to Del-Fi records. He took the name Ritchie to differ himself from all the other “Richies” in the music industry. He later did demos and recorded some songs to improve his skills, and was then given a chance to record with a full band, which created “Framed” and “Come On, Let’s Go”. The songs were a huge success, and it led to another record that featured “La Bamba”, which would sell over a million copies, but would be his final recording.

In 1958, Valens quit high school and started touring around the United States. He had a fear of flying airplanes due to witnessing an accident at a young age, however, later on he would overcome his fear and started to fly to various locations such as Hawaii. He also took a part in the movie “Go Johnny Go!” in a cameo appearance. In 1959, he was traveling the Midwest on a rock ‘n’ roll tour called “The Winter Dance Party”. The tour proved difficult as it was very cold and it led to a lot of the touring members to become sick. This led to some of the group deciding to travel using a small plane. After the plane took off, it would crash just a few minutes later, apparently because of bad weather, which Valens did not survive.

For his personal life, Ritchie died at 18 so never married. February 3 is known as “The Day the Music Died” coinciding with the day of the accident. The song “American Pie” by Don McLean was written as a tribute to Valens. A lot of future artists would be inspired by Ritchie, including Carlos Santana, Los Lonely Boys, and Los Lobos. His nephew Ernie Valens, also toured worldwide to sing his hit songs. In 2001, he was inducted to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

IMDB Wikipedia $500 Thousand 1941 1941-05-13 1959 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) American Bob Keane Bob Morales California Clear Lake Concepcion Valenzuela Connie Lemos Don McLean Ernie Valens February 3 Guitarist Iowa Irma Norton Joseph Steven Valenzuela Los Angeles Mario Ramirez May 13 Mexican American Pacoima Richard Steven Valenzuela Richie Valens Ritchie Ritchie Valens Ritchie Valens Net Worth Rock Stars Singer Songwriter United States United States of America Valens

Ritchie Valens Quick Info

Ritchie Valens Important Facts

• Following his untimely death, he was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.
• On December 27, 1958, he appeared on The Dick Clark Show (1958), live from New York City from 7:30 – 8pm. Also on that show were Jackie Wilson, The Crests, Jimmy Clanton and The Diamonds. At that time, Ritchie and others were also appearing at the Lowe’s State Theater, as part of Alan Freed’s 10 day holiday show. After their performances on “The Dick Clark Show”, at the Little Theater, Ritchie and the other performers traveled a few city blocks, within New York City’s Times Square area for their nightly revue at the Lowe’s State Theater.
• In the trailer for Go, Johnny, Go! (1959), he is seen briefly performing on stage, with no sound. In the actual film, he is performing “Ooh My Head” in a coffee shop. This may suggest that another song was left on “the cutting room floor”.
• His appearance in Go, Johnny, Go! (1959) filmed sometime in 1958, appears to have been filmed prior to his recordings of “Donna” and “Come On, Let’s Go” as he is singing in the style of Little Richard. He had not yet adapted his own vocal style that he used on his later 1958 recordings. Interestingly, “Framed”, the B-side to “Come On, Let’s Go”, is a reworking of Little Richard’s “Miss Ann”, but there Ritchie sounds more like the Ritchie Valens that we came to know.
• Early in his career, Bruce Johnston, later of The Beach Boys, was a fellow band member. The Beach Boys have credited Ritchie as one of their influences.
• He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6733 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on May 11, 1990 (two days before what would have been his 49th birthday).
• At the time of his death, he had a two-sided hit, “Donna” (US #2) / “La Bamba” (US #22). The only time a singing star, in the rock era, had a top 10 hit at the exact time of his/her death.
• Is mentioned in the song “Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me” by Reunion.
• Parents were Steven Valenzuela and Connie Valenzuela.
• Attended Pacoima Junior High School (now Pacoima Middle School).
• Had a fear of flying after his best friend was killed when two airplanes collided, and the wreckage fell on him.
• Despite having his most popular hit with “La Bamba”, an adaptation of a Mexican folk song, Valens did not speak Spanish.
• Posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
• Was one of the performers featured on a set of stamps of rock and blues legends issued by the United States Postal Service in June 1993.
• Released his first single “Come On, Let’s Go” in 1958.
• His hit song “Donna” was named after his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig.
• Died in a plane crash at age 17 along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson).
• Born at 12:56am-PDT

Ritchie Valens Filmography

Ritchie Valens Awards