Buddy+Holly


 * Buddy Holly **

By: Kiara Jackson

Charles Hardin Holly was born on September 7, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, a conservative and segregated city. His parents were Lawrence and Ella Holly. Buddy was the youngest of four children. His family was very musical. Buddy's older brothers, Travis and Larry, played guitar. Pat, Buddy's sister, sang. At age 11, Buddy started taking piano lessons. He soon switched to steel guitar then acoustic. In 1951, he met Bob Montgomery. He too could play an instrument so they started to play together. They called themselves Buddy and Bob. They played school assemblies and radio shows. They added Larry Welborn to the group as a bass player. The band played different clubs and talent shows. KDAV radio station gave the band their own half hour show on sundays. The radio station also sponsored concerts. Buddy's band was chosen to open for many singers, including Ferlin Husky, Marty Robbins, and Elvis Presley. In October of 1954, the band added Jerry Allison on drums.

On October 14, 1955, Bill Haley and the Comets starred in a show with Buddy's band. The promoter of the show, Eddie Crandall, was so impressed with Buddy's performance that he attempted to get them a record deal. In January 1956, Buddy was offered a contract from Decca Records. The contract was offered to Buddy and only Buddy. Montgomery told him to go and Welborn stayed in Lubbock to finish school. On January 26, 1956, Buddy had his first recording session at Owen Bradley's recording studio. Don Guess was on bass and Sonny Curtis was on lead guitar. After some failed recordings, Buddy started writing songs.

Blue Days, Black Nights was the group's first single. It didn't sell well. On February 25, 1957, Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded That Will Be the Day. It was released in June 1957 and hit the charts in August. It was #1 in the Pop charts and #2 in the R&B charts. Other songs included Rave On, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, and Maybe Baby. Buddy Holly and the Crickets toured with black artists and won over black crowds. They made their television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. In November 1958, the band returned to Lubbock. Buddy wanted to change their style of music but the rest of the band disagreed. They split up. Buddy married Maria Santiago on September 15, 1958. He proposed to her on their first date. The couple moved to Greenwich Village, New York soon after.

Buddy Holly last single, It Doesn't Matter Anymore was recorded in January 1959 with a backup group that consisted of Tommy Allsup, Waylon Jennings, and Charlie Bunch. In 1959, Buddy and his new band joined the Winter Dance Tour Party of the Midwest. Buddy's last performance was at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2, 1959. Buddy chartered a plane to take him to the next city. J.P. Richardson and Ritchie Valens joined him on this flight to Moorhead, Minnesota. On February 3, 1959, the plane, named Miss American Pie, took off and crashed minutes later. Everyone on board was killed. Buddy Holly was only 22 years old.

Buddy Holly had seven Top 40 singles. He pioneered and popularized the band lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was one of the first to use double tracking when recording songs. He has influenced the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and many others. The Rolling Stones's first major Britsh hit was Not Fade Away, a song originally by Buddy Holly. Buddy's last single, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, hit the Top 100 charts on the day Buddy died. In 1971, Don McLean released a song called American Pie. This song names the day of the crash as "the day the music died."

Source: readingglassesshopper.com..............................Source: insidesuccessradio.com

Source: rockbackingtracks.co.uk............................................................Source: bluebeat.com

media type="youtube" key="MDcLtiCgAG8" height="349" width="425" Buddy Holly and the Crickets performing That'll Be the Day Source: youtube.com

__** Bibliography **__  "Buddy Holly Biography | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum." //The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | RockHall.com//. Web. 29 May 2011. . This source was used for information. This site had more information about the band's influences on performers that came after them.

"Buddy Holly." //Famous Texans//. Web. 29 May 2011. . This source was used for information. This site had more information about Buddy's death.

"Buddy Holly Reading Glasses | Reading Glasses Shopper Blog." //Reading Glasses: All Styles under $20 - BBB Accredited//. Web. 30 May 2011. . This source was used for a picture. I used it because it was the first colored picture I came across.

"Buddy Holly." //The History of Rock and Roll//. Web. 29 May 2011. . This source was used for information. This site had more information about Buddy's start in music and where he came from.

"Inside Success Radio - Requested Guests." //Inside Success Radio - Proactive Internet Talk Shows For the Online World -//. Web. 30 May 2011. . This source was used for a picture. I used it because it was the first picture I found where Buddy was looking right at the camera.

//Rock Backing Tracks, @ Rockbackingtracks.co.uk//. Web. 30 May 2011. . This source was used for a picture. I wanted to use another colored picture and it took me awhile before I found this one.

"Rockabilly: Artists." //BlueBeat.com: Play Free Music//. Web. 30 May 2011. . This source was used for a picture. I used it because Buddy looks a lot less geeky in this one compared to the other pictures I found.

"YouTube - Buddy Holly And The Crickets That'll Be The Day ‏." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// Web. 30 May 2011. . This source was used for a video. I used it because I wanted to put one of his songs on here. This video was the first one I found that had an actual performance.