Anyone who’s seen the movie La Bamba (1987), knows the story behind Ritchie Valens rock classic, “Donna.” Valens wrote the song for his girlfriend, Donna Ludwig at a time when his career was starting to take off, but their romantic relationship was experiencing some bumps.
The movie is accurate in its portrayal of the difficulties the young couple faced. Donna’s father did not approve of her dating a Hispanic man. And Ritchie’s career put him on the road constantly before he had even finished high school. And yes, she cried like a baby when Ritchie first played the song he composed for her.
Nevertheless, the two persisted as a couple up to his tragic death on “the Day the Music Died.” Sadly, Ms. Ludwig also endured the premature death of her mother shortly thereafter. She also became permanently estranged from her father when he pushed her to try a recording career herself, to cash in on her notoriety and exploit what, to her, was a very personal tragedy.
Donna lived a small-town life, marrying 3 times and giving birth to two daughters. She did attend the world premier of the movie La Bamba and at last report, was still living a quiet life with her third husband.
