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Ritchie Valens
With a twanging guitar riff and one full throated cry of "para bailer la bamba",
Ritchie Valens howled himself into rock'n'roll folklore, becoming Latin
America's answer to Elvis Presley and sending Los Angeles teenagers into a
frenzy. Raised in Pacoima, California by his Mexican father, Valens taught
himself to play guitar and soon became the front man of local band The
Silhouettes. Discovered by producer and label boss Bob Keane, he first hit the
charts at barely 16-years-old with Come On, Let's Go, before his ballad Donna
shot to Number 2. But it was the B-side La Bamba - a se...
