A piece of history returning to the ballroom: Buddy Holly's mic he used on the night of his last show donated to the Surf Ballroom

A piece of rock and roll history has made its way back to the Surf Ballroom and Museum in Clear Lake, Iowa. 

Buddy Holly's microphone from that infamous night of February 3, 1959, has made its way back to the stage it was last used on. 

Austin Allsup, son of Tommy Allsup who a part of the touring musicians on the Winter Dance Party, has donated the mic to the Surf Ballroom from his personal collection. 

President of the North Iowa Cultural Center/Surf Ballroom Jeff Nicholas said, "I got goosebumps just sitting here talking about this. This is just absolutely incredible. We've known about this for a few weeks, but merely by having it here, it's just absolutely amazing, because this right here is where that microphone stood," Nicholas said, gesturing to the stage he and Austin sat on. "Because the stage has been expanded a couple of times, but we have lots of photographs and lots of documentation that this was the actual mic that Buddy sang."

The microphone was in Tommy Allsup's collection because keeping track of the gear was his responsibility at the time.

"My dad was the unofficial band leader," Austin Allsup said. "Just because he was older and he was helping Waylon learn the songs. Waylon was trying to learn bass on that tour, figure out these songs he never heard. But my dad's responsibility as band leader  [was] oftentimes keeping up, making sure that everything is packed, loaded, gear wise. Which is kind of the reason my dad did not get on the airplane that night, because Buddy asked him to come back in and do what we call in the Music Industry a 'dummy check.' And it's where you just go in and make sure you weren't a dummy and left something behind. And I'm not saying that this [the microphone] was still in here, but the whole reason my dad came in here, that final moment when he ran into Richie and flipped the coin, was to make sure they didn't leave any gear. And so they continued to tour and my dad kept up with this since then."

Austin met his father when he was 17, almost 18 years old, later in life, and the microphone was one of his treasired items he always had around, according to Allsup.

"Then, when he [Tommy] passed away, I wound up with it," Austin said. "And my brothers and sisters, you know, we all had our things. And this was one of the things that I really cherish."

The Surf Ballroom has been working on their new Music Experience Center since they broke the ground for it in April of last year and more than a year's planning before that. It is set to open later this year. 

"I've mentioned to Jeff and Shane in the past that I have this microphone that really belongs somewhere other than my safe in my closet in West Texas. So when they started building this museum, when we were here last year for the Winter Dance Party, we all kind of got to talking, and the conversation continued up to a few weeks ago and to right now," Austin said.

Allsup has a close connection to the Surf and to Clear Lake itself, having performed at the venue for the Winter Dance Party every year since 2017.

"It's just crazy to think that my I'm the only kid, out of all my dad's kids, that do what he did," he said. "That that continued the relationship with the Surf Ballroom, with all our other family up here, that are just friends, but it feels like a family. And for that relationship to mature over the years and to flourish into what it is, this is the product of all of that. And it's the least I could ever do to say thank you."

"Austin, on behalf of the Surf Ballroom and Clear Lake and the entire North Iowa community, rock and roll fans from around the world, thank you. This is such an incredible gift," Nicholas said. "One of the things that this new project that we're in and the new museum has done is it has allowed us to to say, yes, we will take something like this, or we've been out searching for other things like this, because we really haven't had an adequate place to display it until now."

Just a few weeks ago, the Surf had a few pieces of Les Paul's memorabilia donated to them from Jim Waisocki, a close friend of Paul's, including what is considered the very first solid body electric guitar.

"It's opening a lot of doors to a lot of different things that we think once we get open, everybody's going to be very, very excited. Rock and roll fans from around the country and around the world are going to be so excited to see so many other things, but I cannot imagine anything more important than this," Nicholas said, of the historic microphone. "That day the music died, that moment in time, that was kind of thrust upon the Surf and Clear Lake, is something that we're very passionate about, and we feel very strongly to make sure that the music never dies. And it will never die, because it isn't really so much what we're doing, it's obviously because of the music. And this certainly will be a treasured piece that will will attract folks from around the country and around the world to make that endeavor even more successful. We're just so excited and thankful to Austin. He truly is a part of the Surf Ballroom family, his dad was part of the Surf Ballroom family, and Austin is certainly a part of it. That's what makes all of this special."

Allsup will be performing a free show at the Surf Ballroom tonight at 6:30 p.m. as a part of the Surf's "Surf Sounds" series this summer. Donations are accepted in lieu of admission and directly support the Surf Ballroom & Museum’s Education and Outreach Programs.

"My kids are here with me tonight," Allsup said. "It's very special. I'm very personal with my music and writing, and just, just when I'm creating music, it's very personal to me, and so to kind of share that with my kids. Your kids, that's your everything. So for them to be part of this, and then for them to just be received the way that they are from the family here, the town folk, the lady at the Best Western, it's good."