Buffalo Creek

Album: American Minor (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The song's title refers to the bursting of the Buffalo Creek Dam in Logan County, West Virginia which released 132 million gallons of black waste water on February 26, 1972. The waste water was a product of the Pittston Coal Company, who also owned the dam. 125 people were killed, 1,121 injured and over 4,000 left homeless. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Andrew - Huntington, WV

Comments: 1

  • Franklin Brown from Ocklawaha FloridaActually, it was 3 dams built like stairs up in a hollow at the head of Buffalo Creek. We had a big snowfall. Then it rained for 4 days. Top dam broke, ran into the 2nd dam which instantly broke, those 2 ran into the bottom dam that instantly broke. 132 million gallons of water and sludge came down Buffalo Creek. It wasn't so much a flood as it was a tsunami. 125 people died that morning. 5 or 6 of which they've never found.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

90s Metal

90s MetalFact or Fiction

Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.