The Staunton Senior Center kicked off its local author series with Al Leichter, the author of nine books, which are mainly about the history of Staunton.
The book he presented on Oct. 4 was about Tommy Dee who wrote a song called “Three Stars” in 1959 after the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Big Bopper in a tragic plane accident. The song, a tribute written and performed by Tommy Dee the day after the tragedy, was only meant to be played in Dee’s radio studio, but it ended up becoming a huge success, with many other singers recording it as well.
Al brought the story to life with music by Holly, Valens and Big Bopper as well as the song “Three Stars.” Al has been collecting records since the late 1950s and is a local expert on music, especially rhythm and blues.
The next local author lined up for SSC is Lynn Coffey, author of the Backroads newspaper series, which she has compiled into three books alive with stories of the Appalachian culture in this area. Lynn will be speaking on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 12:15 p.m.
More information at www.StauntonSeniorCenter.org.
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