Eight months is a tremendously slim timespan to build a legacy. Yet that’s all the time Ritchie Valens had to create his classic recordings, which remain revered around the world. Valens made his first sides for Del-Fi label producer Bob Keane in May of 1958, and on February 3, 1959, he was killed in the tragic plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.

In that all-too-brief period, Ritchie scored three indelible hits—his debut single Come On, Let’s Go and a blockbuster double-sided single pairing Donna and La Bamba. The teenager certainly knew how to rock, and his Bear Family disc does precisely that as Valens storms through his aforementioned hits and a plethora of other spicy gems: Hurry Up, Ooh! My Head, Rockin’ All Night, Dooby Dooby Wah, various alternate takes, and plenty more. As a special bonus, we’ve included both sides of Donna Ludwig’s rare tribute single to her departed boyfriend, touchingly closing the CD.

• 1. La Bamba
• 2. Ooh! My Head
• 3. Hurry Up
• 4. Let's Rock and Roll
• 5. Fast Freight
• 6. Framed
• 7. Come On Let's Go
• 8. Little Girl
• 9. Bony Moronie
• 10. Big Baby Blues
• 11. Cry, Cry, Cry (Bob Keane Home Recording #1)
• 12. Cry, Cry, Cry (Bob Keane Home Recording #2)
• 13. Cry, Cry, Cry (With the Claves)
• 14. Cry, Cry, Cry
• 15. Bluebirds Over the Mountain
• 16. Rockin' All Night
• 17. Dooby Dooby Wah (Bob Keane Home Recording)
• 18. Dooby Dooby Wah
• 19. Dooby Dooby Wah (Take 7 - Outtake)
• 20. From Beyond
• 21. Hi-Tone
• 22. The Paddi-Wack Song
• 23. Rock Lil' Darlin'
• 24. Malaguena
• 25. That's My Little Suzie (Demo)
• 26. S My Little Suzie
• 27. That's My Little Suzie (Outtake)
• 28. Rhythm Song
• 29. In a Turkish Town
• 30. Ritchie Valens Commercial (Donna)
• 31. Donna
• 32. Stay Beside Me
• 33. We Belong Together
• 34. Newcast: Plane Crash Report, Feb. 3, 1959
• 35. Donna Ludwig: Lost Without You
• 36. Now That You're Gone