| BAMBA | 'La --' (Ritchie Valens hit) |
| LABAMBA | Ritchie Valens hit of 1959 (2 wds.) |
| DONNA | Ritchie Valens hit on the flip side of "La Bamba" |
| LOUDIAMOND | American actor who played Ritchie Valens in the 1987 film La Bamba (3,7,8) |
| PHILLIPS | American actor who played Ritchie Valens in the 1987 film La Bamba (3,7,8) |
| TURKISH | Ritchie Valens "In a ___ Town" |
| BOPPER | The Big ---, American musician who died in a 1959 plane crash along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens (6) |
| BIGBOPPER | The _ _, American musician who died alongside Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in a 1959 plane crash (3,6) |
| THEBIGBOPPER | Stage name of Jiles Perry Richardson Jr, killed in the plane crash in 1959 that also claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens (3,3,6) |
| RITCHIE | Valens who sang "La Bamba" |
| LOSLOBOS | American band who had a 1987 UK Number One with a cover of Richie Valens' La Bamba (3,5) |
| IHADA | "_ ___ _ girl, Donna..." (Valens lyric, three words) |
| PINO | Danny ___ played Scotty Valens in Cold Case from 2003 to 2010 |
| PLANE | In 1959, B. Holly, R. Valens & the Big Bopper all died in one. |
| YOU | "Stuck on ___" (Lionel Ritchie) |
| VALENS | 1950s rocker Ritchie |
| FINDLAY | Scottish publisher and humanitarian, John Ritchie ___ |
| SIDVICIOUS | Singer born John Simon Ritchie |
| DEEP | ___ Purple (Ritchie Blackmore's band, once) |
| KNOT | What Madonna tied w/Guy Ritchie |
