An extraordinary piece of rock and roll history — a front-page handbill from The Andy Doll Band’s Midwest tour, hand-signed by both Ritchie Valens and Frankie Sardo, dated January 1958.
This document predates Valens’ national breakthrough entirely. Bob Keane didn’t discover Valens until May 1958, and Valens wasn’t signed to Del-Fi Records until later that spring — meaning this signature was captured before the world knew the name Ritchie Valens. Just over a year later, on February 3, 1959, Valens perished in the Iowa plane crash that became known as “The Day the Music Died,” alongside Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, at only 17 years old.
Frankie Sardo, who would go on to open shows on the legendary Winter Dance Party tour, is also boldly represented here. Together, these two signatures on a single handbill — from a regional Midwest gig predating their wider fame — represent an exceptionally rare artifact from the dawn of rock and roll. An irreplaceable treasure for any serious collector of 1950s music memorabilia.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​