Buddy Holly By: Stephanie Stevens

Charles Hardin Holley Born September 6, 1936 Lubbock, Texas Called Buddy ‘e’ in Holley dropped Youngest 4 kids Played guitar, violin, piano, mandolin, and banjo Died February 3, 1959 in Clear Lake, Iowa Charles Hardin Holley was born September 6, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas. (Hoag) Everyone always called him Buddy. One account says that he was called Buddy because his mother thought “Charles Hardin was too big a name for such a little boy and, besides, he was just so cute.” (Hoag) The e in Holley was dropped by accident while signing a contract. Buddy was the youngest of 4 children. As a child he learned to play guitar, violin, and piano. He later learned to play the mandolin and banjo. (Larkin) He died on February 3, 1959 in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. He was 22 when he died.

Beginning of a Legend Family of Musicians Bob Montgomery Started in Country Radio Station Opened for Elvis Decca Records Buddy Holly lived a short life but he made a lasting influence on music. His love of music started when he was a child. His family members were musicians. When he was young Buddy would perform at local events with his brothers. His first band was with his best friend, Bob Montgomery. Country is the style of songs Buddy first wrote and performed. A local radio station allowed him to have his own show. Buddy became well known in Texas and because of that was able to be an opening act for Elvis Presley in 1954. “Holly was impressed by Presley and began thinking about performing in the new rock ‘n’ roll style.” (Larkin) Buddy continued to perform country music and was given a contract with Decca records. They wanted him to sing country music but Buddy couldn’t do it anymore. He moved into rock ‘n’ roll. “Holly later said, ‘We owe it all to Elvis’” (Pareles and Romanowski).

The Crickets 1957 Jerry Allison, Larry Welborn, and Niki Sullivan Norman Petty “That’ll Be the Day” Apollo Theater In 1957 Buddy got another band that included Jerry Allison, Larry Welborn, and Niki Sullivan. They called themselves The Crickets. They signed with Norman Petty and with his help they got a hit with “That’ll Be the Day”. “The record rocked to the top of the charts, peaking at number one on the Billboard Best Selling charts.” (Hoag) The success of this song led them to a performance at the Apollo Theater in New York. This was a big deal back then. The Apollo Theater was a venue for African Americans to perform in. The promoters “were surprised that the group was white” (Pareles and Romanowski). Regardless of their color the audience loved their music.

Fame 3 albums Influenced by Elvis Influenced Beatles Style of Music Guitar-Bass-Drums Combo Hiccup Buddy Holly had 3 albums put out while he was alive, The “Chirping” Crickets in 1957, Buddy Holly in 1958, and That’ll Be the Day also in 1958. (Larkin) Buddy was very influenced by Elvis Presley. He made a huge impression on many other artists. The Beatles and many other English musicians followed Buddy’s music and fashion style. Buddy’s most lasting influence was with his style of music. “He wrote his own songs, recorded with a self-contained guitar-bass-drums combo, experimented in the studio and even changed the image of what a rock singer could look like…Holly’s hiccupping vocal style and mature, melodic compositions inspired many rockers” (Larkin). That hiccup was his trademark. Today Buddy’s music is very recognizable because of his voice.

Love Life Married Maria Elena Santiago Married for 6 months Pregnant? Even though he died at such a young age, he was married. His wife was Maria Elena Santiago. Their courtship was very short they got married just a few months after they met. Maria travelled with Buddy for a short time on his tour. They were married for only 6 months before he died. Some sources say she was pregnant at the time but miscarried because of the stress of his death. (Hoag)

Winter Dance Party Crickets split 1958 Needed $ Joined Winter Dance Party tour of 1959 Cold, Horrible Conditions Plane to next show Buddy, Roger Peterson, Ritchie Valens, J.p. Richardson Crash after take off Buddy and the Crickets were a great group but they did not last. In 1958 the group split up. Because of this break up Buddy was in need of money and had to go on tour again. He joined the Winter Dance party tour of 1959. Also on the tour were Ritchie Valens, Dion DiMucci, and J.P. Richardson. The tour was scheduled to last 3 weeks and would travel the mid-west. It is said that this was “Rock & Roll’s tour from hell” (Cott). Their tour bus was not in the best condition. It frequently broke down and the heater wouldn’t work. The musicians were very cold and were getting fed up with the conditions they had to deal with. The night of February 2 was Buddy’s last performance. After performing at the Surf Ballroom he decided that he would get a plane to take him to the next venue. He got a small plane chartered. The pilot was Roger Peterson. The plane could only hold 4 people. With the events that transpired Peterson, Buddy, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson were the ones that went on the plane. It crashed shortly after takeoff. All aboard were killed.

End of a legend Major Tragedy “American Pie” Made Bo diddley into pop September 6, 2011 Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Buddy Holly’s fame and influence continued after his death. His, along with Valens and Richardson’s deaths, was a huge tragedy and shock for the country. Many people were very upset and distraught about the tragedy. The song “American Pie” by Don McLean is about the event. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys said, “I always appreciated that…he took the bo diddley things and made it more chordal, into a pop thing.” (Cott) There are many other similar comments about Buddy. On September 6, 2011 Buddy received “a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame” (USA TODAY). Buddy Holly was a fantastic musician and is still influencing people today.

Composition History Buddy was either the writer or the co-writer of most of his music.

That’ll Be the Day Recorded 1957 in New Mexico Written by Buddy and Jerry Allison Influenced by John Wayne Jerry Allison, Larry Welborn The “Chirping” crickets This song was recorded on February 25, 1957 in Clovis, New Mexico. It was written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. Norman Petty was the producer. He took cowriter credit even though he did not write the song. (Pareles and Romanowski) The song was influenced by a John Wayne movie. The title was actually a line that Wayne said. The song was performed by Holly, Allison, and Larry Welborn. Buddy played the lead guitar and also sung the vocals. Allison played the drums and Welborn played the bass. Brunswick Records issued the label. It was originally released on the album, The “Chirping” Crickets in 1957.

Peggy Sue Written by Buddy and Jerry Allison Originally “Cindy Lou” Buddy Holly Jerry Allison, Joe Maudlin This song was written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. The original title to the song was “Cindy Lou” but was changed to “Peggy Sue” after Allison’s girlfriend. (Larkin) Once again Norman Petty took cowriter credit on this song. He did not write it but produced it. The song was written in 1957 and is on the record Buddy Holly. This song was also under the Brunswick label. Buddy sang the vocals and played lead guitar, Allison played drums, and Joe Maudlin played bass. The lady in the picture is Peggy Sue. This is who the song was written about.

Everyday Written 1957 by Buddy Released 1957 under Coral Label Joe Maudlin, Jerry Allison, Vi Petty Celeste added Buddy Holly Everyday was written in May of 1957 by Buddy Holly. (Larkin) It was released in September of 1957 under the Coral label. Norman Petty was the producer. This song is different than Holly’s other songs. He plays the acoustic guitar and sings the vocals. Joe Maudlin plays the bass and Jerry Allison slaps his hands onto his knees. Usually Allison would play the drums. A celeste is also added to this song. It was played by Vi Petty. (Larkin) It was originally found on the album Buddy Holly released in 1958.

Words of Love Written by Buddy April 1957 Multiple Tracks Released on the album Buddy Holly in 1958 Buddy Holly wrote this song in April of 1957. (Larkin) This was a song that Holly recorded on multiple tracks. Coral records released this song on the album Buddy Holly in 1958.

Maybe baby Written 1957 by Buddy Jerry Allison, Larry Welborn, and Niki Sullivan Released 1957 on the album the “chirping” Crickets Brunswick Label This song was written in September 1957 (Larkin) by Buddy Holly. Buddy played the guitar and sung lead, Jerry Allison played drums, Larry Welborn played bass, and Niki Sullivan played guitar. The song was released on the album The “Chirping” Crickets in 1957 under the Brunswick label.

Crying, Waiting, Hoping Written by Buddy Recorded on Multiple tracks Coral Label Released 1959 on the album buddy holly story, volume 2 This song was written by Buddy. It is another one that he recorded on multiple tracks. He did all the music in this song. It was written in 1958 and produced by Jack Hansen under the Coral label. It was released in July of 1959 and was originally found on the album Buddy Holly Story, Volume 2.

Listening Guide Buddy Holly’s songs were short. About 2 Minutes Long. Songs have a happy feel Instrumentation was simple

That’ll Be the Day Song1 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

Peggy Sue Song2 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

Everyday Song3 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

Words of Love Song4 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

Maybe Baby Song5 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

Crying, Waiting, Hoping Song6 To listen to song, click on hyperlink

References