Carl Bunch

Carl Bunch (November 24, 1939 – March 26, 2011) was an American musician and drummer best known for his brief stint as the drummer for Buddy Holly during the Winter Dance Party Tour in 1959. Bunch's time with Holly was cut short by Holly's sudden death in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, popularly referred to as The Day the Music Died. After Holly's death, Bunch enlisted in the United States Army before relaunching his music career with Hank Williams Jr. and Roy Orbison.

Bunch later retired and became a minister. Throughout the 2000s, Bunch attended various events that celebrated Buddy Holly and gave interviews about his experiences with Holly. After years of health issues stemming from his diabetes, Bunch died on March 26, 2011 at the age of 71.

Early life Carl Bunch was born in Big Spring, Texas on November 24, 1939. He was the first of two children, preceding his sister Kathy. Born prematurely, Bunch spent the first six months of his life recovering in the hospital. Bunch spent over a year in the hospital and had extensive surgery done to reconstruct the bones in his right leg. To fill Bunch's absence, Holly, Valens, and Dion took turns playing drums for each other at the performances in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Clear Lake, Iowa.

Following the tour's performance at the Surf Ballroom, Holly, Valens, and Richardson boarded a Beechcraft Bonanza together with pilot Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959. En route to the next tour stop in Fargo, North Dakota, the plane subsequently crashed in a cornfield in Clear Lake, killing all four occupants instantly. Allsup, Jennings, and Dion all claimed to have narrowly avoided boarding the flight in place of Valens and Richardson.

Aftermath Bunch recalled first learning of the crash from his mother, and later grieved with fans while lying in his hospital bed. Despite the tragedy, the Winter Dance Party tour continued. Musicians such as Bobby Vee, Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton and Fabian were also recruited to help fill out the playbill.

In the 1970s, Bunch departed from the music industry and took on various jobs, including a stint as a security guard for televangelist Jim Bakker. In the mid-1980s, Bunch enrolled to Friends International Christian University and graduated with various theological degrees. After graduating, Bunch became an ordained Southern Baptist minister acting as a mental health therapist in California. In the 1990s, Bunch occasionally played country and gospel music in Los Angeles, no longer performing rock and roll as Bunch felt it was "too raunchy".

Bunch attended Buddy Holly related events during the late 1990s to early 2000s, signing autographs as "The Frostbitten Cricket" (using the term despite never having been a member of The Crickets). Bunch died on March 26, 2011 at the Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California, from complications stemming from diabetes at age 71. Bunch had been in ill health for decades, with a 1993 article from the Los Angeles Times describing him as "half-blind". At the time of his death, Bunch was survived by his wife Dorothy and their three children.