Bob Keane | Discovered Valens, 87

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

Mr. Keane's son, Tom, told 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.

"He was like the original independent record man in those days," Mr. Keane's son, a songwriter and record producer, said. "He was the guy going out and finding talent and developing it and getting it out to the masses."

A clarinet player who once led his own 18-piece orchestra, Mr. Keane briefly headed Keen Records in 1957 and released Sam Cooke's hit "You Send Me" before launching Del-Fi Records. - AP