Maps of Music
Ritchie Valens in Concert at Pacoima Jr. High (1960)
Where the lyrics of Ritchie Valens in Concert at Pacoima Jr. High take you, and where it was really made.
The only live performance of Ritchie Valens ever recorded took place at his old school, and the live side was padded with an early demo with an audience dubbed in.
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Overview
- Ritchie Valens in Concert at Pacoima Jr. High: live album by Ritchie Valens
- Released posthumously, in 1960
- Third and final of the albums Valens released
- Consists of his only live performance ever recorded
- The live recording is augmented by unfinished studio recordings
Background
- 10 December 1958: performance at his alma mater, Pacoima Junior High School, after a recent tour of Hawaii
- Emceed by Gail Smith, a close friend who later became president of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Fan Club in Los Angeles
- Valens's guitar and vocals were accompanied only by drummer Don Phillips
- The concert was taped on a small portable tape recorder
- Valens died on 3 February 1959
- Numerous Ritchie Valens Fan Clubs formed across the nation after his death
- By late 1960 no further records had been released since the Ritchie album a year before
- Manager Robert Keane received letters en masse from fan club members hoping more Valens songs would be released
- Keane obtained the Pacoima Junior High tape and pressed it to record
Recording
- The live side includes an early demo of "Come On, Let's Go" with live audience dubbed in
- That demo bears no textual resemblance to the released hit version
- Side two was filled with unfinished demos recorded at Keane's home studio
- Valens's entire Gold Star Studios master output had already been released on his first two albums
- Personnel: Ritchie Valens on guitar and vocals, Don Phillips on drums
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Bob Keane Intro | 1:59 |
| 2 | Come On, Let’s Go | 3:18 |
| 3 | Donna | 2:56 |
| 4 | Summertime Blues | 2:52 |
| 5 | From Beyond | 3:59 |
| 6 | La Bamba | 4:33 |
| 7 | Bob Keane Intro | 0:28 |
| 8 | Rhythm Song | 1:06 |
| 9 | Guitar Instrumental | 1:53 |
| 10 | Malaguena | 3:22 |
| 11 | Rock Little Darling | 1:21 |
| 12 | Let’s Rock and Roll | 1:45 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Richard Steven Valenzuela, born May 13, 1941, in Pacoima, Los Angeles; parents of Yaqui Mexican descent.
- Self-taught musician; joined local band The Silhouettes at 16 and became their lead vocalist.
- Signed to Del-Fi Records by owner Bob Keane in May 1958; adopted the stage name Ritchie Valens.
Career
- Hits included "La Bamba", adapted from a Mexican folk song into a rock arrangement, and "Donna", which reached number two in the US.
- Appeared on American Bandstand and The Dick Clark Show in late 1958.
- Died February 3, 1959, in a plane crash in Iowa at age 17, along with Buddy Holly and J. P. Richardson; the event became "The Day the Music Died".
- Posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Regarded as a pioneer of Chicano and Latin rock and the first Latino to cross over into mainstream rock.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Manager Robert Keane answered the fan letters by obtaining the Pacoima Junior High tape and pressing it to record
- The album was built from one live show and demos, not from a new studio session
- The "live" side was filled by an early demo with live audience dubbed in
- Side two was filled with unfinished demos recorded at Keane's home studio
- Keane provided narrative descriptions of each track
Reappraisal
- The album's value rests on the single live performance, the only one Valens ever recorded
- The studio tracks are unfinished demos, so the album is read as a document of unreleased material
- No critic review scores for this album are recorded in the source
Records
- No chart positions, sales figures, certifications or awards are recorded in the source
- The Discogs listing of releases is the only external reference given
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- The Pacoima Junior High show is the only live performance by Valens ever recorded.
- Gail Smith emceed the show; he later became president of the Ritchie Valens Memorial Fan Club in Los Angeles.
- The live side includes an early demo of "Come On, Let's Go" with live audience dubbed in, bearing no textual resemblance to the hit version.
- Side two consists of unfinished demos recorded at manager Robert Keane's home studio, and Keane wrote the descriptions of each track.
- Valens's Gold Star Studios master output had already appeared on his first two albums before this release.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org