February 3rd marked 65 years since "The Day The Music Died," after the plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens infamously went down in a post-concert plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa back in 1959. Even those who weren't around then became familiar with the tragedy after Don McLean came out with his signature tune, "American Pie" in 1971. 

But I have to confess, for me, the story always stopped there. I never really thought about the fact that, despite the tragedy, the concert tour continued without three of its biggest stars. An article in a Springfield, Illinois newspaper reminds that the show must go on and go on it did. Those who had tickets for the final date of that event still went to see it and have strong memories of it to this day. 

Tris Schnepper is one of them. He was all of 17 then. Now he's 82 and still can't forget that post-tragedy show. 

"Schnepper was surprised that the tour pushed on with a reconfigured lineup that included headliner Fabian and tour holdovers Dion and the Belmonts and Holly's backing band, The Crickets, including a young bassist named Waylon Jennings, among others...

"It was an age of innocence," Schnepper said, "and that seemed to go (after Holly's death)."

It's a part of the story you don't often get to read. And there's a Canadian angle to it. A Montreal filmmaker is looking into the post-plane crash shows and is writing a book about those final performances.

65 years later: Anniversary of Springfield concert looks back on 'the day the music died'