[Old School Hound]

Reba Jeanette Smith grew up in Corbin on the same hill where I was born and raised. Her dad was a railroader and her mom, a homemaker. My parents knew Reba's parents very well, living on the same street all those years. After high school, Reba won 2nd place  in both the Miss Louisville and Miss Kentucky Pageants in 1948. But it wasn't with her looks, so much, that she made her mark. It was with her lovely singing voice. She left Corbin , changed her name to Debbie Stevens , and headed to Nashville, looking to make a name for herself in music. And did she ever.  In fact, he participated in the infamous "Winter Party Dance Tour" in 1959. 

This grueling tour  entailed over 20 shows in 14 days, two shows a day, covering the Midwest in the midst of a cold winter. The performers traveled all night on a cramped bus after each show to arrive at the next venue in the morning. The bus was cold and cramped and no one got the rest they needed. Debbie knew this would continue for several more weeks.  One night, one of her friends, who was headlining the tour,  had grown tired of the bus travel and decided he would hire a plane and fly to the next location far away in Minnesota. He, and two other headlining musicians,  boarded the small private plane for Minnesota. The plane crashed somewhere over Idaho, killing all its passengers. Debbie and the rest of the tour were devastated at the loss of their three friends, whose names you might recognize- Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson(The Big Bopper), and Richie Valens.  The press coined this tragic event "The Day the Music Died."

And now you know...the REST ...of the story.    By the way, that is far from the end of Reba's(Debbie's) story.  Stay tuned for more later today. You've not heard the best yet. Here is a picture of Corbin's own , Reba Jeanette Smith (Debbie Stevens).


[Image: https://images.findagrave.com/photos/202...8a677.jpeg]


Wreakage of the plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens:


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