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Remembering the life of teen star Bobby Vee – who got his break the day the music died

February 3,1959 will long be remembered as the day the music died, but for the “Baby Face” singer Bobby Vee, it was the day his career was given life…

Pop singer Bobby Vee. (Photo by Michael Levin/Corbis via Getty Images)

Bobby Vee, who’s known for chart-topping hits like “Take Good Care of My Baby” and “Suzie Baby,” got his lucky break on the same day the music world was crushed by tragedy.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, Dion and other pop stars, were travelling on a tour bus, performing 24 back-to-back shows through the rough and snowy terrain of the Midwest in the Winter Party Tour, which is known as rock & roll’s “Tour from Hell.”

Tired of being on the unheated bus–some artists had gotten frostbite and the flu–Holly chartered a single-engine aircraft to quickly carry him, Valens, and the Big Bopper from Clear Lake, IA to the next stop, in Moorhead, MN, which is a six-minute drive from Fargo, ND, the home of the then 15-year-old Bobby Vee.

Wikipedia Commons / Harry Pot / Anefo

It was just before 1 a.m. when the plane crashed killing the pilot and all three stars, a dark day observed by singer-songwriter Don McLean in his 1972 pop song “American Pie.”

Despite the tragic loss of music’s greatest stars, which was felt across the world, the tour went on, with new headliners Jimmy Clanton, Fabian & Frankie Avalon. Frankie Sardo, Dion & The Belmonts, and The (new) Crickets–who took the bus to Moorhead–continued until the end of the tour.

That day, Vee’s name would also appear on the playbill as a headliner.

Vee, born Robert Thomas Velline, was a fresh-faced, clean-cut boy whose love for music was inherited from his musical family. Learning how to play the guitar from his big brother Bill, Vee used his earnings from his paper route to purchase his first guitar, and practiced in a band with Bill and two high school friends, Dick Dunkirk and Bob Korum.

Flickr / Bradford Timeline

On February 3, the two brothers had tickets to the star-packed Moorhead event, The Winter Dance Party, with the headliner, Buddy Holly, whom Vee idolized.

“Like so many other people, I became a Buddy Holly fan the very first time I heard him sing,” Vee said.

Learning of the crash, Vee said he was “stunned.”

“I remember a few years ago when Buddy was scheduled to appear at a dance in my home town of Fargo, North Dakota. It was going to be a big event for the whole town, but even more so for me. I was anxiously looking forward to seeing Buddy in action. The day he was to arrive disaster struck, taking Buddy’s life, along with the lives of two other fine singers, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The shocking news spread through Fargo very quickly,” Vee said.

The news spread and a local DJ delivered desperate pleas for replacement performers. Though never having played before an audience, Vee and his band volunteered.

Wikipedia Commons / Harry Pot / Anefo

The boys had three hours to prepare, and they only had about six songs to perform.

“Our style was modelled after Buddy’s approach and we had been rehearsing with Buddy’s hits in mind. When we heard the radio plea for talent, we went in and volunteered. We hadn’t even named the group up to that time, so we gave ourselves a name on the spot, calling ourselves The Shadows.”

After a tribute by Waylon Jennings–Holly’s bass player and future country music star–the quartet was put on stage as the Shadows, a name Vee chose on the spot.

“It changed my life. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that show,” Vee said, recalling that lucky day.

When the show ended, the tour continued with headliners Jimmy Clanton and Frankie Avalon, but the Shadows were left behind.

Their next gig was a Valentine’s Day show at a high school gymnasium, where they earned $60, and in the following months, they added a pianist, Elston Gunnn, to their roster.

That pianist was Bobby Zimmerman, now known as Bob Dylan.

“He was in The Shadows. Yeah, he played piano, but he didn’t play very well, and we didn’t have a piano. He talks about playing in a church basement, and that’s true,” Vee said about Dylan. “The piano was horribly out of tune. He could play “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Going On.” He played really well in the key of C, but that was about it.”

Dylan moved on from the band and found his place in folk music with a guitar.

St. Joseph,Mn.,Tues.,Nov. 30,2004–Former teen idol Bobby Vee at the door to his recording studio, Rockhouse Studio, on the main street of St. Joseph which he runs with his sons. On the door is a poster for his “Up North December” tour. (Photo by JOEY MCLEISTER/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

And Bobby Vee went on to record 38 Top 100 songs from 1959 to 1970, hitting No. 1 in 1961 with the Carole King-Gerry Goffin song “Take Care Good of My Baby,” and “Run to Him,” reaching No. 2. Other hits include “Run to Him,” “Rubber Ball,” “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes,” “Come Back When You Grow Up,” and “Punish Her.”

Vee continued to perform with his new band the Vees, made of sons Robby, Tommy, and Jeff, until 2011, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative and incurable brain disorder.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Vee stumbled in finding his words and said, “It’s not getting any better, I can tell you that. But I’m doing the best I can.”

Still, in 2014, Vee released The Adobe Sessions, a jam session recorded with family members featuring some of his favorite songs from Townes Van Zandt, Gordon Lightfoot and Ricky Nelson. It was released on the 55th anniversary of the Buddy Holly plane crash.

After having four children and 50 years of marriage, Vee’s wife Karen died of kidney failure in 2015 at age 71. Bobby Vee died the next year at 73.

Speaking of his condition, and his life, Vee said in an interview, “But I’m not going to cry about it. God brought me home. And that’s the deal.”

Wikipedia Commons / John Mathew Smith

What a voice he had, Bobby Vee was great! It’s hard to imagine he only had one # 1 song, they were all great. Those were so much simpler days back then.

Do you remember listening to Bobby Vee? Feel free to share your memories in the comment section and don’t forget to share this article with all of your friends on Facebook.

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Nataliya Kuznetsova isn’t your average female bodybuilder

Keeping ourselves in shape is important for our body and soul to feel comfortable. For most of us, that means simple things like taking a walk or doing some light daily exercise.

For 33-year-old bodybuilder Nataliya Kuznetsova, however, keeping in shape looks a little different. The professional Russian female bodybuilder is said to hold the world arm lifting, bench press, and deadlift titles – with one look at her, it’s hard to believe otherwise.

Personally, I think everyone reserves the right to look however they want. Individuals should never be teased for their appearances – how one chooses to dress and shape themselves is, of course, entirely up to them.

Here at Newsner, we have previously reported on amazing and fascinating people who are strong enough to do things their own way. They don’t give a heck about society’s preconceived ideas of beauty, preferring to follow their own dreams.

I, for one, think that’s very important. We must never forget that all people are equal, and the cultural differences between us are what makes our world so colorful and lively. In any case, that’s my firm opinion.

Nataliya Kuznetsova, a Russian 29-year-old, holds the world arm lifting, bench press, and deadlift titles – and her entire lifestyle is about improving her muscular and impressive body.

Everything in her life has centered around always becoming stronger in the pursuit of being able to lift more. As a young woman, Nataliya knew what she wanted to do with her life. At 14, she began powerlifting and decided to become a bodybuilder, according to UK site LadBible. When she started her journey, she weighed just 80lbs.

Today, her scale usually shows anywhere between 246–275lbs.

Road to celebrity

There isn’t a lot of information out there concerning Nataliya’s childhood and upbringing. What we do know is that she was born Nataliya Trukhina on the first of July 1991, in Chita, southeast Siberia, Russia.

Growing up, she was very active. She loved training and combat sports in particular. So when she turned 14, Nataliya embarked on a bodybuilding career, going to the gym almost daily.

Under the supervision of coach Alexei Ivanov, a well-known and respected coach in the area, Nataliya was put on a rigorous diet.

The goal for Natalia wasn’t to build a mountain of muscle and compete. Instead, the main target of the gym classes was to get stronger, while attending some mass as a bonus.

But it didn’t take long before people noticed the young girl putting on weight and gaining bigger muscles every day. After a few years, she started signing up for competitions. Nataliya was entirely focused on becoming a bodybuilder, and she did very well in one of her first championships.

As a 17-year-old, she weighed only 150lbs, but was capable of bench-pressing 220lbs. According to Nataliya, this was in the early days of her career while she was still living in Chita. She hadn’t even discovered protein shakes and didn’t know how crucial it was for building muscles. Still, she managed to achieve some amazing results.

Whether it was simply because she discovered protein or not is a matter for others to debate, but to this date, Nataliya has won several championships and set numerous records.

According to The Famous People, the Russian colossus won the 2014 Cup of Eurasia in Vologda, Russia. In 2015, she became the Champion of the Cup Eastern Europe (GPA).

Nicknamed the World’s Most Muscular Woman, Nataliya holds many records in powerlifting, bench press NAP, and deadlifting. Her bench press record is over 374lbs, and her deadlift record is 530lbs. According to herself, Nataliya holds the European bench press and deadlift titles. The Russian gym lover is 5’7″ tall and weighs just over 220lbs during the offseason.

“It’s not about being perfect – it’s about showing up, putting in the effort and getting the work done to get you were to envision yourself to be-Everyday is another opportunity to move forward a little more,” she wrote on her Facebook account.

But Nataliya is more than just a powerful bodybuilder with an eye-catching exterior and biceps measuring 18.5 inches.

In 2013, she graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. She also participated in a “Manon Lescaut” production at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

Today she lives in the Russian capital with her husband, bodybuilder Vladislav Kuznetsov. The couple met in 2009 and tied the knot in 2015. Nataliya often posts sweet tributes to her husband, who supports her in whatever challenges she takes on in her life. The couple have no children at the moment, but Nataliya would like to have one in the future.

”Our love story is quite modern. We met on the Internet, more precisely, on Odnoklassniki(a social network service in Russia). For a while, we only talked as friends,” Nataliya said in 2019.

Over the years, Nataliya has fought hard to be able to live on her passion. In the early years of her career, she was almost always short on money.

It was challenging to find sponsors, and she had to take money out of her own pocket to train and compete. In Russia, it wasn’t easy to get contributions or help – but since Nataliya has received quite a lot of attention and gone viral of late, things are looking brighter.

She currently has several sponsors and works with nutrition brands such as Oxytropin and RPS Nutrition.

Likely none of this would have been possible if she hadn’t been active on social media – pictures of her muscular body have been spread like wildfire over the years. Many have seen her face on the Internet – but probably quite a few know who the female goliath is.

“People definitely recognise me. An athletic body can be seen under clothes. Many people recognise me, ask to take a photo with them. Many people even know my name,” she told LadBible.

Nataliya has previously talked the preconceived opinions of other people. Some people call her ugly and refer to her by hurtful names, but she refers to them as children who cry when they meet someone far stronger than them.

“The classical standards and norms are long gone. Even the modeling industry is already ”very different”. My best advisor is a mirror,” she says.

However, she treasures all the love she gets from her numerous fans around the world.

“Most of my Instagram followers are men. They stand for around 75%, and it’s about the same percentage on other social networks. They write a lot. Compliments to an athlete are no different than compliments to a non-athlete,” she said.

Today, she has a whopping one million followers on Instagram. Nataliya, a unique Amazon woman, as she labels herself, constantly updates her fans with sneak-peaks from her everyday life. And of course, her feed is fully packed with gym tips and exercises.

She claims she was at one point tempted to try growth hormones, but ultimately decided they were not for her. However, she’s admitted to using estrogen blockers and other performance enhancers that are banned by most major sporting bodies.

In early 2017, Nataliya announced that she would leave the spotlight and “retire” from powerlifting, but only one and a half years later, she was back for the next big competition in Moscow. She also revealed that she was pursuing a career in coaching and wanted to help others “achieve their potential.”

What’s your opinion on Nataliya’s life choices? Is she doing the right thing by following her dreams, or is this pure madness?

Feel free to share your opinion, but keep it civil in the comments section!

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Goldie Hawn, 78, vacation pictures in swimsuit spark comments

For celebrities, to be photographed is a pretty normal occurrence. And for someone like Goldie Hawn, it is very much the same. Hawn, who has been in the limelight since 1969 when she appeared in Cactus Flower is no stranger to public scrutiny.

The actress only got more famous as time went on. She then went on to marry Gus Trikonis and then later Bill Hudson. Both men also worked in entertainment.

Later, Goldie Hawn’s children also followed in her footsteps and became actors. So you will not be surprised to know that she is very used to being photographed any time she is out and about.

Keep reading to know more about what picture of Goldie Hawn had tongues wagging this time.

78-year-old Goldie Hawn was pictured by paparazzi on vacation in her swimsuit and the picture caused a lot of reactions from people who saw it. Many internet users had strong opinions about her appearance.

The actress, who has been with actor Kurt Russell since 1983. The two share one child together, and Russell also helped raise Goldie’s two children from her previous marriage, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson.

One user simply criticized the actress’ lack of tan, writing, “I love her but I hate the color and style of this swim suit I believe a little tanning cream just saying.”

Goldie Hawn poses for a camera.
Shutterstock

Some criticized her choice of swimwear, with one user writing, “There comes a time when you should not wear some suits or shorts anymore”

While another appreciated the actress and how well she looked for 78 years old, they wrote, “This is an amazing photo! I hope like HELL when im 78 i can stroll the beach in a bathing suit and a tiny cover and not gaf what anyone else thinks! 😊 i think shes beautiful!”

Others were more frustrated with the negative comments, “My God people, leave her alone. She looks great for her age. End of story!”

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell pose on red carpet.
Shutterstock

The actress herself, has no qualms about getting older.

She said, “Getting older is a fact of life. By living mindfully, you understand that there are many transitions in life, [and] you just have to go through them,” the star told People. “It’s wonderful to know that you’re aging because that means you’re still on the planet, right?”

But she is very aware of the age bias that exists in the industry and among its fans

Goldie Hawn poses for a camera.
Shutterstock

“You think you’re going to fight the system? You think you’re going to prove to Hollywood when you hit 45 that you’re still a sexy, viable object? No. There’s a certain reality,” Hawn told Bazaar. “Does it make me angry? No. I’m not an angry person. I’m not a militant person. Anger doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s not productive.”

Even with the negative comments she sometimes faces, it is good to know that she is able to look beyond it. What do you think of Goldie’s swimsuit? Let us know in the comments.

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Warning signs you should never ignore on your skin

Psoriasis is more than just a skin condition – it’s an autoimmune disorder that can manifest as scales, spots, or even crumbling nails. It is a condition that must be managed well.

There are five different types of this potentially painful disease and understanding exactly what you’re up against will help you manage it effectively. Remember, it is important to take care of your health.

If you would like to know more about psoriasis, then keep reading!

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder that speeds up the life cycle of skin cells, resulting in the rapid buildup of cells on the surface of the skin, forming scales, redness, and inflammation. V C

The Mayo Clinic describes psoriasis as “a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp.” This is not a rare skin disease but a more common one.

More than 125 million people worldwide, and about 8 million in the U.S. live with the “common, long-term (chronic) disease” that “can be painful, interfere with sleep and make it hard to concentrate.” The condition, after all, has an impact on your health

Though its exact cause is still a mystery, genetics and environmental triggers play a significant role.

The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) identifies five types of skin disease, each that comes with a social and emotional toll due to its visible symptoms.

Plaque psoriasis

According to the NPF, this is the most common type of psoriasis, characterized by dry, itchy, raised patches of skin (plaques) covered with scales. These patches can vary in number and typically appear on the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp. The color of the plaques depends on skin tone and may heal with temporary discoloration, known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, especially on darker skin. Any type of irregularity warrants medical attention.

Key characteristics

  • Texture: Thick and scaly
  • Color: Red or pink with a silvery overlay
  • Itch Factor: Moderate to severe

Guttate psoriasis

Primarily seen in children and young adults, guttate psoriasis often develops after a bacterial infection like strep throat. This type of psoriasis manifests as small, drop-like sores on the trunk, arms, or legs. Unlike plaque psoriasis, guttate spots are thinner and less scaly.

Key characteristics

  • Size: Small, teardrop-shaped spots
  • Trigger: Infections
  • Affected areas: Torso, limbs

Inverse psoriasis

Inverse psoriasis loves to hide in the folds of your skin like the groin, buttocks, and under the breasts. Unlike other types, it doesn’t have the signature scaling. Instead, it presents as shiny, smooth, red patches that can worsen with friction or sweating. Fungal infections are a common trigger for this form of psoriasis.

Key characteristics

  • Texture: Smooth and shiny
  • Location: Skin folds (where friction and sweat occur)
  • Irritation: Often worsened by sweat and rubbing

Because of its location, inverse psoriasis can be tricky to manage and is prone to fungal infections. Keep the area clean and dry!

Pustular psoriasis

This type is less common but dramatic in its presentation. Pustular psoriasis is characterized by white pustules (blisters filled with non-infectious pus) surrounded by inflamed, red skin. It can appear on specific areas like the hands and feet or spread across the body. We discuss some of the symptoms below.

Key characteristics

  • Appearance: Blisters filled with pus
  • Symptoms: Often accompanied by fever or chills
  • Severity: Can range from localized to widespread

Pustular psoriasis needs immediate medical attention. Don’t ignore those tiny blisters – they could be a sign of something serious!

Erythrodermic psoriasis

This is the rarest and most severe type, causing widespread redness, scaling, and peeling of the skin, often covering large parts of the body. Erythrodermic psoriasis can be life-threatening and usually requires hospitalization.

Key characteristics

  • Appearance: Intense redness and shedding of skin
  • Symptoms: Severe itching, pain, and swelling
  • Triggers: Severe sunburn, infection, or abrupt cessation of psoriasis treatment

This type of psoriasis isn’t something to wait out – call your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms!

In addition, the Mayo Clinic explains that psoriasis doesn’t limit itself to the skin. It can also affect your nails, causing them to become thickened, pitted, discolored, or even detach from the nail bed (a condition called onycholysis). Nail changes are often an early indicator of psoriatic arthritis, a related condition that affects the joints.

Psoriasis may come in different forms, but understanding its signs can empower you to take control. If you notice any of the signs we’ve covered, consult a dermatologist to get the care and treatment you deserve for your better overall health.

If you’d like to share how you manage your psoriasis, please do so in the comments section below. Next, share this story with your friends so we can hear from them!

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