December 01, 2009

By By Associated Press

Del-Fi Records founder Bob Keane, who discovered rocker Ritchie Valens, has died in Los Angeles at age 87.

Keane's son, Tom, tells the Los Angeles Times that his father died of renal failure Saturday at an assisted-living home in Hollywood.

Bob Keane founded the West Coast independent label Del-Fi in the 1950s.

In 1958, he discovered the 17-year-old Valens at a small concert and invited him to record in his home studio.

Their brief association led to Valens' hits "Come On, Let's Go," "Donna" and "La Bamba."

Valens was killed Feb. 3, 1959, in the Iowa plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

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