Iconic Musician Bobby Vee Has Died at 73

Bobby Vee has passed away at the age of 73 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Born Robert Thomas Velline, Vee became a seemingly overnight success when his band The Shadows played at the Winter Dance Party in Moorehead, Minn. to fill in for the artists lost in the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly. Vee was only 15 years old at the time.

He went on to have 38 singles reach the Billboard Hot 100 and has inspired and influenced musicians in the pop world and beyond.

The music legend was diagnosed with Alzhiemer’s in 2011 when he was 67 years old, after his massively successful musical career.

“It’s kind of a blessing,” Dr. Rick Rysavy, Vee’s primary care physician and close friend told USA Today after Vee’s passing. “There was no reason for him to suffer any longer.”

This story first appeared at Womanista.