Richard Steven Valenzuela was born on 13 May 1941, in Pacoima, California, USA, of Mexican descent. Ritchie was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known for being one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll. He is also the father of the Chicano rock movement, and all of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was before his untimely death.
How rich was Ritchie Valens? As of late-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $500,000, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. He had several hits, including “La Bamba” which was released in 1958. He is a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and his death is known as “The Day the Music Died”. All of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Ritchie Valens Net Worth $500,000
While growing up, Valens listened to a lot of mariachi, flamenco, blues and R&B muisic. He expressed his intentions of making his own music at a young age, and was encouraged by his father to learn the guitar, but he also learned the trumpet and the drums. At the age of 16, he joined his first band called the Silhouettes as a guitarist. When their vocalist left the group, he became the main vocalist and they made their debut with him as a singer in 1957. He attended Pacoima Junior High School and would perform with his friends there.
He became very popular especially due to his improvisational skills. He had the nickname “Little Richard of San Fernando” and would later attract the attention of Bob Keane. He invited Ritchie to an audition, and the singer was then signed to Del-Fi records. He took the name Ritchie to differ himself from all the other “Richies” in the music industry. He later did demos and recorded some songs to improve his skills, and was then given a chance to record with a full band, which created “Framed” and “Come On, Let’s Go”. The songs were a huge success, and it led to another record that featured “La Bamba”, which would sell over a million copies, but would be his final recording.
In 1958, Valens quit high school and started touring around the United States. He had a fear of flying airplanes due to witnessing an accident at a young age, however, later on he would overcome his fear and started to fly to various locations such as Hawaii. He also took a part in the movie “Go Johnny Go!” in a cameo appearance. In 1959, he was traveling the Midwest on a rock ‘n’ roll tour called “The Winter Dance Party”. The tour proved difficult as it was very cold and it led to a lot of the touring members to become sick. This led to some of the group deciding to travel using a small plane. After the plane took off, it would crash just a few minutes later, apparently because of bad weather, which Valens did not survive.
For his personal life, Ritchie died at 18 so never married. February 3 is known as “The Day the Music Died” coinciding with the day of the accident. The song “American Pie” by Don McLean was written as a tribute to Valens. A lot of future artists would be inspired by Ritchie, including Carlos Santana, Los Lonely Boys, and Los Lobos. His nephew Ernie Valens, also toured worldwide to sing his hit songs. In 2001, he was inducted to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
