One hundred miles to the northwest , in Fargo , N.D. , a little-known but portentous moment in rock 'n ' roll history occurred when , on the night after Buddy Holly died in a plane crash on the way to a gig there in February 1959 , an 18-year-old piano player named Robert Zimmerman -LRB- later known to the world as Bob Dylan -RRB- sat in with a fellow Minnesotan , Bobby Vee , whose band was conscripted at the last minute to fill Holly 's place on the bill .