In the middle two hours, one of the foremost authorities on the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Gary W. Moore, discussed what happened "the day the music died" and why many viewed the crash as suspicious. The fatal event, which occurred in February 1959 near Clear Lake, Iowa, not only killed the influential musician Holly, but Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and an inexperienced 21-year old pilot, working for the Dwyer Flying Service.

One of the long-standing rumors was that a handgun belonging to Holly had been fired aboard the flight, and was connected to why the single-engine plane went down. The weapon, Moore explained, was recovered by a farmer near the crash site when he was plowing his fields in the spring, and he impulsively fired off a shot to see if the gun worked. Once the weapon had been turned over to the Sheriff, it was recorded that the gun had been fired once but it wasn't noted that this had been done by the farmer, thus fueling speculation.

The woman who inspired Holly's song "Peggy Sue," Peggy Sue Gerron, said that Buddy had been threatened by the Mafia, who were trying to muscle their way into the music business. But rather than foul play, Moore concluded that it was the combination of deteriorating weather conditions and pilot error that caused the loss of control that led to the crash. One of the band members, Waylon Jennings, didn't get a seat on the plane (he gave his seat to the Big Bopper, who had the flu), and joked to Buddy "Well, I hope your plane crashes"-- a comment that haunted him for the rest of his life. The rock 'n' roll pioneer Valens reportedly "won" a coin toss with another band member, Tommy Allsup, to get a seat on the small craft. The Big Bopper's son, Moore recounted, believed the gun conspiracy theory, and had his father's body exhumed-- but they found no evidence of bullet wounds.

Volatile Economy

First-hour guest, stock market analyst, Joe Meyer predicted a major downturn developing in the boom years of 2004. He shared his analysis of the current volatile economy and what to expect from the energy and precious metals markets, as well as how to prepare for another recession. With rising interest rates, he believes this recession is now in its early stages. The US could be facing another real estate crash, as well as about to be affected by banking woes with the European Union, where he believes Italy, in particular, may be in trouble. He recommended that people invest in gold and silver, possibly as much as 30 to 40% of their portfolio.

The last hour featured Open Lines.

News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Peter Davenport