Ritchie Valens: The First Latino Rocker

by Beverly Mendheim

bio of the "La Bamba" singer-songwriter

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Dany Mercury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that the author knew her subject well, having written about him in multiple articles before publishing this book, in 1987.

Beverly A. Mendheim was around when Ritchie Valens was not even popular, yet. In fact, she saw his first performances on television, and she can tell a first-hand account of how the public reacted.

The book has many photos of Ritchie and his family, as well as other musicians, and friends of his. There is even a snippet of the opening melody of "La Bamba," as performed by Manny Sandoval.

There is a discography, with detailed track lists, as well as dates given for each album and single. This is also true for tribute songs to him, as well as tributes to Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, as they often go together, for obvious reasons.

However, the author has grammar problems, and it annoys me. After all, she is an author, she has an editor, and she still made mistakes, such as the useless apostrophes when making something plural. We pay for books without errors.

The book barely has 150 pages, which makes it a bit expensive when we buy a brand new copy of the 2002 edition. I cannot tell anyone if there are differences between the original edition and the newest one, however. There does not seem to be any new source after 1987.

However, such a short book gets right to the point, and it never embellishes reality, or creates events that would be good for a novel. It tells it like it is, as much as I could tell.

Any questions? Why did Ritchie Valens agree to use a plane, in February 1959? Could there be reasons beyond the engine problems? Did Ritchie ever perform this or that song in concert? How did the media react to the deaths of the three legends of music? What happened to Ritchie's father? When did Pacoima High School open its doors, and what is its history? What was Ritchie's worst subject, in school? Did Ritchie ever attend any Catholic school? What was the religion of his parents? Who truly wrote "Donna?"

The author attempts to answer all those questions, and then some.

The book also rectifies the errors in the 1987 film, "La Bamba." Now, if you want to know what they were, you will have to get your hands on a copy.

I would recommend it to fans of Ritchie Valens and his music, to those who knew him, his friends, his family and/or his manager personally, to the fans of Los Lobos - who explain how they got the Ritchie Valens sound right - to fans of Alan Freed and other celebrities who affected, in one way or another, the life of Ritchie Valens, and to those who also liked the multiple musicians mentioned in the book, such as Dion, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Waylon Jennings and Frankie Sardo.

There are also photographs of Donna Ludwig, for those who may be fascinated by the 1950s girlfriend of Ritchie Valens.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame that three decades after publication, this evidently remains the only biography of the pioneering Valens. To her credit, Mendheim spoke to the relevant people and gathered plenty of source material, but she's not expert enough to have made a real narrative out of it. Worthwhile for admirers, though. The conflicting memories of band members is both frustrating and hilarious.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great insight into Ritchie’s music and how he was influenced by and in turn influenced other artists of the time. Not quite the biography I thought it would be, but it was still very enjoyable.

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book. Not too heavy, but maybe very full of information and that can become a little confusing.