don maclean has never confirmed what the song is about, though the phrase "the day the music died" WAS a reference to holly. he reports that telling people what the song is about would make it lose all meaning..so i guess we'll never know for sure
Mike Berry recorded: Tribute to Buddy Holly 1963
also
Tommy Dee and the Teen Tones got to N011 in 1959 with:
Three Stars. .. A tribute to ;Rithie Valens;Big Bopper and of course Buddy Holly