On December 31,1985....Rick Nelson...His Girlfriend..(Helen Blair)...And His Entire Band.... Consisting Of...........
Bass Player..Patrick Woodward...............Drummer...Rick Intveld
Key Boardest...Andy Chapin.................Guitarist....... Bobby Neal
And Road Manager...Donald Russel
Were All Killed ....In A New Years Eve Plane Crash
Less Than 2 Miles From Their Destination................(Dallas Texas)
(The Pilot And Co Pilot Survived...Though One Was Badly Burned)
It Is Said ....That This Catastrophy..... Might Have Been Avoided
And Heres Why
Rick Nelson Dreaded Flying In Planes
But He Hated Being On A Bus Even More
So...In May Of 1985...He Leased A 1944 DC 3..That Once Belong To The DuPont Family
And After That...Jerry Lee Lewis
This Plane Had History Of Mechanical Trouble
Including These Two Incidents
In One Incident...The Entire Band Had To Get Off.........And Push The DC 3 Off Of The Runway
After An Engine Blew Just Before Take off
And Another Incident Where
The Magneto Blew...And Rick Couldnt Make It To The First "Farm Aid Concert"
So... After Performing In Orlando, Florida......And Then... After Their Second Gig In Guntersville, Alabama
Their Plane Took Off For A
"New Years Eve Extravaganza".....................In Dallas, Texas
Unfortunately....There Was To Be No "New Years Eve Extravaganza"
For Within 2 Miles Of Their Destination
The Plane Ran Into Trouble In Dekalb ,Texas...........Crashed Through Trees...........Was Set Ablaze As It Hit The Ground
And That Was..................................................... "The Day His Music Died"