BUDDY HOLLY
"When Paul and I started writing stuff,we did it in the key of A because we thought
that was the key Buddy Holly wrote all his songs in. Holly was a big thing then, an
inspiration. Anyway,later on I found out he played in C and other keys but it was
too late and didn't worry us anyway. It sounded okay in A..."
-- JOHN LENNON
Indeed, "That'll Be the Day" was the first song Lennon learned to play and sing accurately, not to mention the first song the proto-Beatles ever put to vinyl.
When I first wrote this article, it very quickly became more like a book. So I've dispensed with the niceties in favor of a 'just the facts' type format. This way, I hope it will whet your appetite to learn more about Buddy and his music, and several sections at the end of this article will help. So, that said, let's "Rave on", shall we?
"I'm a gonna tell you how it's gonna be..."
*The man who graced the world with the spiraling guitar intro to "That'll Be the Day" was born Charles Hardin Holley Sept. 7,1936 in Lubbock, Texas. He got his nickname Buddy early in life, but it was a mistake on his first record contract that re-spelled his last name as 'Holly', Buddy kept it, thinking it sounded cosmopolitan. That said, his grave stone reads "Buddy Holley".
* Buddy began musically as a blue grass player. Then one Elvis Aaron Presley came thru town in 1955 and pointed the way to a better direction: rock and roll. Buddy and his early band even opened up for Presley twice. And there persists a legend in Lubbock about the girl Buddy set Elvis up with...
*Although Holly is today as linked with the Fender Stratocaster guitar as Jimi Hendrix is, he began his career with a Les Paul gold-top.
* Although you see the name 'Buddy Holly & the Crickets' on innumerable CD's today,in the 50's there was no such entity, on record, at least. Thru a contract quirk, his Coral label could not release his first single, "That'll Be the Day" since it had been recorded for the labels parent company the year before. (this is the awful country-ish version your lucky not to hear) The solution? They banked that no one would notice if they released the single under the Crickets name ONLY. Well, Decca eventually figured it out, but realizing what a potential gold mine (not to mention chart monopoly) they had on their hands, decided to continue releasing the Crickets on Brunswick records and keep Buddy on Coral. The plan was for the Crickets singles to be more the rockers and Buddys the more experimental. That said, it was under Buddys name that "Rave On'' and "Peggy Sue" were released.
* If you have seen the bio-flick "The Buddy Holly Story" staring Gary Busey (if you're out there Gary, Hello Brother!) you may be aware that the film took some major,and bizzare , liberties with the 'story'.For one, there were 3 crickets (not counting Buddy) not 2! And they didn't even get those 2 names right! The Crickets, as of and thru 1957,consisted of Joe B. Mauldin, bass; J.I. Allison on drums and, for 1957 at least, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar. In the film, they get their name after a chirping cricket interrrupts a recording session. Tho' this at least *sort* of happened, heres the real story: Buddy and J.I. were searching an encyclopedia for potential names for the band when Buddy found what he felt was a real winner, his choice: the Beetles. Everyone else was not thrilled however, and after a bit more searching,the name Crickets was settled upon.
Another maddening aspect of the movie is that 'Buddy' is not seen playing his famous Fender Strat until his FINAL concert!! Instead he plays a pukey yellow Fender Telecaster. And who WAS that manager type guy in the movie? I dunno, but he didn't exist. The bands real manager was a man from Clovis, New Mexico named Norman Petty. He owned the recording studio where Buddy made most of his classics. Ever notice the name Petty on the songwriter credits of Buddys songs? Petty never wrote one of them. He considered this the least Buddy could do for his help.
* Unbelievably, Buddys records weren't doing well on the charts by 1959. So against the wishes of his new bride, Maria Elena Santiago, he embarked on a package tour called the 'Winter Dance Party 1959'. The Crickets had recently split due to Pettys mechanisms, so Buddy drafted old band mate Tommy Allsup for lead guitar and Lubbock D.J. Waylon Jennings to play Buddy-taught bass. They treked thru the upper- midwest on bus, stopping on Feb.2,1959 in Clear Lake, Iowa. In yet another film error, the bus did not entierly break down, but the heater did. Several of the musicians decided to charter a small plane to Fargo so they could get some rest and some laundry done. The planes final occupants included pilot Roger Peterson, singer J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson (played superbly in the film by Gailord Sartain, Mazeppa himself); Ritchie Valens, whos "La Bamba" was on on the charts,and Buddy Holly.The rest of the band limped along on bus,and Waylon Jennings final comment to Buddy haunts the country superstar to this day:
Buddy:(jokingly) "Well, I hope your old bus freezes up!"
Waylon: "Well, I hope your old plane crashes!"
They found the debris of the plane the next morning, occupants killed on impact, only a few miles from the runway.
On the morning of Feb. 4th, British schoolboy John Lennon walked into his classroom and moaned "Oh God, Buddy Hollys dead!"
Buddy Hollys imact upon the Beatles is immeasurable. Not only, of course,was their name a take off on the Crickets, but Buddy made John and Paul realize that anybody could do it. That said , many acheivements the Beatles are credited with are actually Buddys. For instance, his pioneering use of double track recording,overdubbing,and string sections on a rock record. Buddy wanted to begin his own record company and studios, his Prism, theirs Apple. To put it simply, the Beatles wouldn't have been the Beatles without Buddy Holly.
WEB-SITES, ALBUMS, BOOKS AND VIDEOS:FOR FURTHER STUDY
CD's : The best place to start here is MCA's "Buddy Holly The Greatest". Good track selection,great sound. Also try the cassette "Buddy Holly/ the Crickets 20 Golden Greats" It should be readily available.
Books: No other place to go but Phillip Normans brilliant "Rave On". There is another book I won't dignify by mentioning.
VIDEOS: Huh. you dont think I'm gonna reccomend THAT movie do ya? No, really, Gary Busey does a marvelous job of playing Buddy (even if he does get the lyrics jumbled a bit...).It's just the odd version of facts that bothers me; but if you know the truth, sit back and enjoy the show!
Web-sites: Theres the Rave On site, Paul Mccartneys MPL site,and another cool one we highly reccomend!
THE BEATLES BUDDY
The Beatles repaid their musical debt to Buddy in strange ways. On the original albums theres only one Buddy cover, but what a beauty! "Beatles for Sale" features John and Paul mimicking their hero breath-for- breath on "Words of Love". Really the only reason to buy the CD... only kidding!
After that, John recorded "Peggy Sue" for his 1975 "Rock n Roll" album, but Paul rather one upped him by not simply recording Buddys song catalog, but buying it!! Paul also holds yearly 'Holly Days',usually in New York City. Of course, the "Anthology"s give us the very first J, P,&G recording in "That'll Be the Day" and Anthology3 the awfully edited "Mailman Bring Me No More Blues". And left unreleased is a gem from the final Beatles session in Jan. 1970, when they covered "Peggy Sue Got Married". But how I long to have heard them perform Buddys light-years ahead of it's time classic "Well, Allright". I mean, c'mon, Dylan made a career out of that song!
"It's all destiny, Peggy Sue..."--Buddy Holly
