The Belmonts were on the Winter Dance Party tour in the winter of
1959, the same tour that proved to be the last for
Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka
The Big Bopper), when
they died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. Dion was touring with
them but did not take the plane because he thought the $36 price for
the trip was too high. He recently said that the fare was equal to the
monthly rent for his family's apartment in The Bronx.