1941 - 1959
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died in a plane crash just eight months after his breakthrough.Valens had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ritchie Valens has received more than 11,634,813 page views. His biography is available in 44 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 43 in 2019). Ritchie Valens is the 144th most popular musician (down from 111th in 2019), the 846th most popular biography from United States (down from 681st in 2019) and the 42nd most popular American Musician.
Ritchie Valens is most famous for being the youngest member of the rock and roll group The Big Bopper. Valens was killed in a plane crash at the age of 17.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
Languages Editions (L)
Effective Languages (L*)
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among musicians, Ritchie Valens ranks 144 out of 2,662. Before him are David Guetta, Itzhak Perlman, Lionel Richie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ike Turner, and Ian Stewart. After him are Hans von Bülow, James Hetfield, Malcolm Young, Nick Mason, Thelonious Monk, and Tony Iommi.
1967 - Present
HPI: 63.56
Rank: 138
1945 - Present
HPI: 63.54
Rank: 139
1949 - Present
HPI: 63.53
Rank: 140
1917 - 1993
HPI: 63.53
Rank: 141
1931 - 2007
HPI: 63.37
Rank: 142
1938 - 1985
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 143
1941 - 1959
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 144
1830 - 1894
HPI: 63.32
Rank: 145
1963 - Present
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 146
1953 - 2017
HPI: 63.22
Rank: 147
1944 - Present
HPI: 63.16
Rank: 148
1917 - 1982
HPI: 63.11
Rank: 149
1948 - Present
HPI: 63.09
Rank: 150
Among people born in 1941, Ritchie Valens ranks 54. Before him are Bobby Moore, Ryan O'Neal, Michael D. Higgins, Eric Burdon, Ivan Gašparovič, and Mahmoud Darwish. After him are Jordi Savall, Jules A. Hoffmann, Abdelkader Bensalah, Roberto Carlos, Frank Farian, and Dan Shechtman. Among people deceased in 1959, Ritchie Valens ranks 21. Before him are Buddy Holly, Errol Flynn, George Grosz, Mike Hawthorn, Bohuslav Martinů, and Alfred Schütz. After him are Edward C. Tolman, Arthur Cecil Pigou, Ettore Majorana, Raphael Lemkin, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, and John Foster Dulles.
1941 - 1993
HPI: 64.28
Rank: 48
1941 - 2023
HPI: 64.08
Rank: 49
1941 - Present
HPI: 63.90
Rank: 50
1941 - Present
HPI: 63.70
Rank: 51
1941 - Present
HPI: 63.69
Rank: 52
1941 - 2008
HPI: 63.44
Rank: 53
1941 - 1959
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 54
1941 - Present
HPI: 63.17
Rank: 55
1941 - Present
HPI: 63.09
Rank: 56
1941 - 2021
HPI: 62.93
Rank: 57
1941 - Present
HPI: 62.88
Rank: 58
1941 - 2024
HPI: 62.87
Rank: 59
1941 - Present
HPI: 62.86
Rank: 60
1936 - 1959
HPI: 65.19
Rank: 15
1909 - 1959
HPI: 65.13
Rank: 16
1893 - 1959
HPI: 64.97
Rank: 17
1929 - 1959
HPI: 63.81
Rank: 18
1890 - 1959
HPI: 63.57
Rank: 19
1899 - 1959
HPI: 63.42
Rank: 20
1941 - 1959
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 21
1886 - 1959
HPI: 62.74
Rank: 22
1877 - 1959
HPI: 62.07
Rank: 23
1906 - 1959
HPI: 61.40
Rank: 24
1900 - 1959
HPI: 60.97
Rank: 25
1862 - 1959
HPI: 60.70
Rank: 26
1888 - 1959
HPI: 60.51
Rank: 27
Among people born in United States, Ritchie Valens ranks 846 out of 18,182. Before him are Brian Dennehy (1938), John Franklin Enders (1897), Larry Hagman (1931), George Minot (1885), Mickey Rooney (1920), and Lillian Gish (1893). After him are Jayne Mansfield (1933), Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. (1915), Britney Spears (1981), Mary Higgins Clark (1927), James Hetfield (1963), and John Lee Hooker (1917).
1938 - 2020
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 840
1897 - 1985
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 841
1931 - 2012
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 842
1885 - 1950
HPI: 63.35
Rank: 843
1920 - 2014
HPI: 63.35
Rank: 844
1893 - 1993
HPI: 63.34
Rank: 845
1941 - 1959
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 846
1933 - 1967
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 847
1915 - 2011
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 848
1981 - Present
HPI: 63.31
Rank: 849
1927 - 2020
HPI: 63.31
Rank: 850
1963 - Present
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 851
1917 - 2001
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 852
Among musicians born in United States, Ritchie Valens ranks 42. Before him are Quincy Jones (1933), Ray Manzarek (1939), Ice-T (1958), Lionel Richie (1949), Dizzy Gillespie (1917), and Ike Turner (1931). After him are James Hetfield (1963), Thelonious Monk (1917), Stan Getz (1927), Don Cherry (1936), Dave Brubeck (1920), and Cyndi Lauper (1953).
1933 - Present
HPI: 63.83
Rank: 36
1939 - 2013
HPI: 63.82
Rank: 37
1958 - Present
HPI: 63.57
Rank: 38
1949 - Present
HPI: 63.53
Rank: 39
1917 - 1993
HPI: 63.53
Rank: 40
1931 - 2007
HPI: 63.37
Rank: 41
1941 - 1959
HPI: 63.33
Rank: 42
1963 - Present
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 43
1917 - 1982
HPI: 63.11
Rank: 44
1927 - 1991
HPI: 62.50
Rank: 45
1936 - 1995
HPI: 62.45
Rank: 46
1920 - 2012
HPI: 62.24
Rank: 47
1953 - Present
HPI: 62.20
Rank: 48