Buddy Holly: An Original

It was on this date in 1936 that Charles Harden Holley was born in Lubbock, Texas.

Although the birthplace of rock and roll was along the Mississippi River, it would appear that this Texas town had its contribution to make, as Charles, better known as Buddy Holly—would become one of music’s true pioneers.

Schooled in piano, violin, banjo and guitar, Buddy Holly started his journey of live performances while still in junior high school, forming his first band.

So what was it about Buddy Holly (and his later band The Crickets) that made them so influential? Unlike Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly wasn’t the sex symbol that The King achieved so effortlessly. John Lennon so admired Buddy Holly that he named The Beatles (originally “Beetles”) after the Crickets.

Essentially, Buddy Holly blazed the trail of the performer who composed their own songs. By 1956, Elvis Presley was a star, but he was singing tunes written by others. Buddy Holly wrote—and produced his own material.

While Holly’s recording career spanned only about a year and a half, his impact on the rock and roll scene was profound. The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan cite Holly as significantly influential in their respective careers.

Here’s a clip of Buddy Holly doing his thing:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWCIqCSyFhc


Killed in the most famous airplane crash in music history—the “day the music died”, Buddy Holly lost his life along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in 1958.

So short a career, but with hits like “Peggy Sue”, “That’ll Be The Day”, “It’s So Easy”, “Maybe Baby” and of course, “Oh Boy”, his legacy was huge.

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