Thank the lord for that

50 years ago today, Waylon Jennings did not die.
Waylon, who Buddy Holly produced a bit early on, was in Holly's band in 1959. The man who would become a critical Nashville outlaw - scratching for studio control and fighting against the predominant 'Nashville sound' - gave up his seat on a plane out of Iowa to the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), who had come down sick.

The plane crashed, the musicians died and, in 1971, Don McLean recorded 'American Pie,' which was probably the worst part of the whole ordeal.

Alright, that's wrong. Madonna's cover was the worst part of the whole ordeal. Oh, and Jennings died Feb. 13, 2002.