Tag Archives: Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly

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Buddy Holly wasn’t with us for long, yet he helped shape rock and roll into what it is today.    With just four years of full-time music performances out of his 22 years total, he earned his spot as one of the founding fathers of rock and roll.

Buddy Holly and The Crickets album cover
Buddy Holly and The Crickets album cover

In the early days of rock where most songs were borrowed from R&B, Country, or other genres, Buddy Holly was one of the first that wrote, produced and recorded his own materials.  The results were unique and spectacular.

It seems like it’s always been that way, but music historians credit Buddy with defining the setup of the traditional rock band.   Most bands were still transitioning from the big band or jazz mix with orchestral instruments, pianos, horns, and woodwinds.  Buddy Holly set rock and roll standard setup: Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums.

Music Career

Any band coming from Lubbock, Texas in the 50s had to feature country music, and Buddy’s was no exception.  Somewhere along the way he caught the R&B bug, probably from late night radio.  AM radio reception during the day was so-so, but at night, distant stations came through, and Buddy was hooked.  His style slowly changed.  Mix Country with R&B and you get rock.  Buddy was good at it; he rocked!

After high school, Buddy’s band was chosen to open for Elvis at several local concerts.  That led to a gig opening for Bill Haley & His Comets where he was noticed by a Nashville scout that led to a recording contract and an unplanned name change.  Buddy Holley’s name on the contract was accidentally misspelled as Holly, and that became his professional name.

The hits started coming from there.  “That’ll Be the Day” hit the charts and soon climbed to the top.  A contractual dispute prevented Buddy from putting his name on it so “That’ll Be the Day” is credited to just The Crickets.  Other hits soon followed as the problem was cleared and  “Peggy Sue” and “Oh, Boy” were released as coming from Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

By 1958, Buddy Holly was an international star after having toured England and Australia, mixed in with a couple of appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Arthur Murray Party.

The Winter Dance Party Featuring Buddy Holly

Winter Dance Party poster featuring Buddy Holly
Winter Dance Party poster featuring Buddy Holly

Alan Freed’s Winter Dance Party was a high point of rock and roll history.   A group of the best of the early rockers toured the Midwest.  It was the first of it’s kind tour being dance music set in traditional concert theater settings.  The rest is the downside of the history.  The weather was terrible, and the tour buses had heat problems.  Buddy Holly charted a plane to skip the bus trip and fly himself, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper)to the next stop.  The plane crashed, killing all three, on the day immortalized by Don McLean’s song as “The Day the Music Died”.

Buddy Holly was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 as part of its first class of inductees.

The Day The Music Died

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The phrase “the day the music died” is often used to refer to February 3, 1959, the date of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. The three musicians were on tour at the time and had just finished performing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa as part of the Winter Dance Party Tour. They boarded a small plane to travel to the next stop on the tour, but the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all three musicians on board.

The Winter Dance Party was a rock and roll tour that took place in the Midwest United States in early 1959. The tour was organized by Buddy Holly’s manager, and it was intended to be a showcase of some of the biggest names in rock and roll at the time. However, the tour would go down in history as one of the most tragic events in the history of rock and roll.

Tragic Plane Ride

The tour reached its tragic climax on February 3, 1959, when Holly, Valens, and Richardson were killed in a plane crash. The crash, which occurred just outside Clear Lake, Iowa, was a devastating blow to the rock and roll community, and it marked the end of an era. The loss of these three talented musicians at such a young age had a profound impact on popular culture and the music industry, and it is still remembered as one of the most tragic events in the history of rock and roll.

Despite the tragedy, the music of the artists who were lost in the crash continues to be celebrated and revered to this day. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are remembered as some of the most influential musicians of the early rock and roll era, and their music continues to inspire generations of musicians and fans.

The Winter Dance Party was a seminal moment in the history of rock and roll. The tour was intended to be a celebration of the genre, but it would ultimately go down in history as one of the most tragic events in the history of rock and roll. The loss of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson was a devastating blow to the music community, but their music continues to inspire and be celebrated to this day. The Winter Dance Party remains a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the power of music to bring people together.

The Song

The song “American Pie” which includes the lyrics “the day the music died” was written by Don McLean. The song was released in 1971 and became a massive hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “American Pie” is a nostalgic look back at the 1950s and 1960s, and the lyrics reference several significant events and cultural touchstones of the time, including the loss of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson in a plane crash in 1959. The song helped to popularize the phrase “the day the music died” as a reference to this tragic event, and it remains one of McLean’s best-known and most beloved songs.

Movies

There have been several movies about the plane crash and the the day the music died. Some of the most notable movies include:

  1. “La Bamba” (1987) – This biographical drama tells the story of Ritchie Valens, one of the musicians who died in the plane crash. The movie stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens and was well-received by audiences and critics.
  2. “The Buddy Holly Story” (1978) – This biographical musical drama tells the story of Buddy Holly’s rise to fame and his untimely death. The movie stars Gary Busey in the title role and was a critical and commercial success.
  3. “Clear Lake, Iowa” (2004) – This independent film tells the story of the events surrounding the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper”. The movie was shot on location in Clear Lake, Iowa, and features performances by several musicians paying tribute to the fallen rock and roll legends.