<P> At the time , Holly and his band , consisting of Waylon Jennings , Tommy Allsup , and Carl Bunch , were playing on the `` Winter Dance Party '' tour across the United States Midwest . Rising artists Valens and Richardson had joined the tour , as well . The long journeys between venues on board the cold , uncomfortable tour buses adversely affected the performers , with cases of flu and even frostbite . After stopping at Clear Lake to perform , and frustrated by such conditions , Holly chose to charter a plane to reach their next venue in Moorhead , Minnesota . Richardson , who had the flu , swapped places with Jennings , taking his seat on the plane , while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss . Soon after takeoff , late at night and in poor , wintry weather conditions , the pilot lost control of the light aircraft , a Beechcraft Bonanza , which subsequently crashed into a cornfield . Everyone on board was killed . The event has since been mentioned in various songs and films . A number of monuments have been erected at the crash site and in Clear Lake , where an annual memorial concert is also held at the Surf Ballroom , the venue that hosted the artists ' last performance . </P>
who missed the plane the day the music died
Waylon Jennings Tommy Allsup