Charles Hardin Holley
(September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959),
known as
Buddy Holly,
was an
American singer,
songwriter,
and musician
who was a
central and
pioneering figure
of rock and roll.
He was born to a
musical family
in Lubbock, Texas,
during
the Great Depression,
and learned to
play guitar
and sing alongside
his two siblings.
Holly made his
first appearance
on local television
in 1952,
and the following year
he formed the group
Buddy and Bob
with his friend
Bob Montgomery.
In 1955,
after opening once
for
Elvis Presley,
Holly decided to pursue
a career in music.
He played with
Presley three times
that year,
and his band's style
shifted from
country and western
to
rock and roll.
In October that year,
when Holly opened for
Bill Haley & His Comets,
he was spotted by
Nashville scout
Eddie Crandall,
who helped him
get a contract with
Decca Records.
Holly's recording sessions
at Decca
were produced by
Owen Bradley,
who had become famous
for producing
orchestrated country hits
for stars like
Patsy Cline.
Unhappy with
Bradley's musical style
and control
in the studio,
Holly went to producer
Norman Petty
in Clovis, New Mexico,
and recorded a
demo of
"That'll Be the Day",
among other songs.
Petty became the
band's manager
and sent the demo
to Brunswick Records,
which released it as
a single
credited to
the Crickets,
a name chosen by
the band to
subvert Decca's
contract limitations.
In September 1957,
as the band toured,
"That'll Be the Day"
topped the US
and UK
singles charts.
Its success was followed
in October
by another major hit,
"Peggy Sue".
The album
The "Chirping" Crickets,
released in
November 1957,
reached number five
on the
UK Albums Chart.
Holly made his
second appearance on
The Ed Sullivan Show
in January 1958
and soon after
toured Australia
and then the UK.
In early 1959,
he assembled a new band,
consisting of
Waylon Jennings
(bass),
Tommy Allsup
(guitar),
and
Carl Bunch
(drums),
and embarked on a tour
of the
mid-western US.
After a show
in Clear Lake, Iowa,
Holly chartered an
airplane to travel
to his next show
in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Soon after takeoff,
the plane crashed,
killing Holly,
Ritchie Valens,
the Big Bopper,
and pilot
Roger Peterson
in a crash later referred to
by
Don McLean
as
"The Day the Music Died"
in his song
"American Pie".
During his short career,
Holly wrote
and recorded
many songs.
He is often regarded
as the artist
who defined the
traditional
rock-and-roll lineup
of two guitars,
bass,
and drums.
Holly was a
major influence
on later popular
music artists,
including
Bob Dylan,
the Beatles,
the Rolling Stones,
Eric Clapton,
the Hollies,
Elvis Costello
and
Elton John.
Holly was among
the first artists
inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame, i
n 1986.
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