He could have been a pretty big deal, but at the time his voice just didn't really stand out the way that Chuck Berry or Elvis' voices did. I think voice matters a lot in terms of popularity. Not necessarily how good you sing, he was a very good vocalist, but it puts a certain signature on your sound when your voice is sort of "one of a kind". Michael Jackson, Elvis, the members of The Beatles, Mick Jagger, and even Bob Dylan even though his voice is pretty bad, you name the most popular artists and all of them have a signature vocal that you can't really mistake with anyone else's.

Look at what was coming along after he passed away though........Some of those artists were huge.:bowdown:
He would have had to have sung LaBamba everyday for the rest of his life while on stage.

He was up and coming at the time that he died, so I think we'd probably have gotten a few more hits out of him. He was important, already, as a Mexican-American rock n roller with actual hit songs and I can easily imagine his influence reaching even further in blues/rock/traditional Mexican music hybrids. Who wouldn't love to hear another La Bamba?

Man, do think he'd have toured with the Bobby Fuller Four?

I don't think he'd be a household name today without the tragedy, but his songs would still be known.

Also, the commentary track on La Bamba is one of the most entertaining I've ever heard.

He was a contemporary of Freddy Fender, who was also a 50's rock icon and then re-invented himself as a country singer and then re-invented himself AGAIN as Baldemar Huerta, Tejano roots singer (My favorite incarnation) who played with badass bands like Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornadoes. I would like to think that Richie would have re-discovered his roots also as he got older. La Bamba was an old folk song and look what he did with that.