sampler: http://www.mediafire.com/?ple6p10u254i5kt
buddy holly (charles hardin holley)
born: september 7, 1936-lubbock, tx
died: february 3, 1959-clear lake/mason city, iowa
i've had a tough time figuring out how to tell the buddy holly story. although his life was short, it was a world wind of frenetic pace and accomplishment. his legacy is rock solid and his tale is wel known.....but it all happened so fast, it has been difficult to streamline for easy consumption. good luck. please excuse any grammatical errors. it is as it is.
buddy holly was my first love of rock and roll. my folks had a double lp called buddy holly rock and roll collection. still have it. still listen to it.
22 years old at the time of his death. holy shit....22 years old. this fact alone blows my mind. over 50 years of profound influence crammed into a few short years of performing and recording. every rock and roll band to come after buddy holly has been influenced by his work. how can a kid from the hinterlands in west texas come up with so much art and creativity? how much more did he have? buddy began home recordings at the age of 12. he began to professionally record at the age of 20. he released only 3 full length lp's, but had recorded scores of songs that would continue to be released for years after his death.
buddy holly's influence is immeasurable. an innovator of the highest order. buddy is probably most famous for his nasally, west texas syncopated yelp and his penchant for always hitting the downstroke of his fender strat. he was a true 5 tool player. one of the first to write his own music. he sang. he played lead and rhythm guitar. he arranged his music. he produced his music. buddy holly and the crickets were the first self contained rock and roll band. inspiring generations of kids to go out to the garage, plug in and bang out 3 chord rockers. the beatles took their name as an homage to the crickets. the hollies are named after him. the rolling stones first hit was not fade away. bob dylan credited buddy during his grammy acceptance speech for out of time. his music defined the sound of 60's radio and shaped the british invasion.
combining his love of hank williams, jimmie rodgers, bob wills and bo diddley with an amped up, electric guitar driven sound and gospel style backing vox....he created a new type of music. his music is undefinable and still sounds brand new to my ears. it is without equal.
elvis, chuck berry (to a lesser extent...he wrote many of his hits) and little richard were often using studio players, songwriters and high priced producers to create their magic....buddy was using his own band and his own hand to put his vision down on tape. he could do it all. amazing performer that left crowds dumfounded and listeners at home wondering how he used such lush instrumentation and so many layers of vocals w/o sounding like their momma's big band records. boy had talent. oh yeah, he could also kick out the jams.
a few facts about buddy holly.
1. could not read music
2. taught by his older brothers.....he could play banjo, guitar, fiddle, drums and steel guitar by the age of 10.
3. at the age of 4 he sang at a birthday party and was written up by the lubbock paper.
4. at the age of 5, won first prize in a talent contest. 5 bucks.
5. throughout the early 50's, buddy had a working band playing, parties, dances, school functions, etc.
6. bluegrass/western bop band in junior high called buddy and jack (neal)
7. played at local radio station KDAV on sundays.
8. KDAV is considered the first radio station in america with a alt-country format.
9. 1954. jack marries. buddy and bob (montgomery) were born.
10. playing as buddy and bob, opened for elvis in january 1955. Supposedly the first ever film of elvis performing is at this show. buddy is also seen in the clips.
11. inspired by elvis, he changes his tune to a rock and roll/country/rockabilly hybrid.
12. continued playing radio gigs, honky tonks, high school dances and roller rink friday nights.
13. signed a record contract with decca at the age of 20.
14. went to nashville but struck out with his recording. producers could not quite figure out how to record this new kind of music.
after the nashville sessions, buddy made his way to clovis, nm. (90 miles west of lubbock) to begin recording and learning from norman petty. the results would forever change the landscape of modern music.
released in 11/57. one of the great debut lp's of all time. due to bad record contracts, record was released under the name of the crickets. buddy had previously recorded some of the songs in nashville and was contractually prohibited from releasing any of the songs under his name...therefore, he released them under the name of the crickets. this would cost him dearly later, as he had difficulty in receiving all the monies owed to him. eventually, leading to his having to tour in the winter of 1959. at a time when full lp's were a total anomaly, buddy produced one of the all time, certifiably great records in rock music. throughout his career, buddy would record most of his work at this home built studio. he and his father actually finished out the attic with tile to form an echo chamber for use in his recordings. studio went on to record the likes of waylon jennings and roy orbison. same echo chamber. amazing backing vocals provided by the picks...a local singing group commandeered by buddy to record his music. chirping crickets is a rock and roll touchstone. every fan of rock music should own this album. a genius doing his thing, unlike anything ever heard before...so many layers and levels of genius. crystal clear sound and production. lighting in a bottle that would alter rock and roll.
1. oh, boy!: all-timer. amazing backing vocals and a blistering lead guitar from buddy. a scream for the ages. most certainly an influence on the beach boys as there is a oooohhh e ooooh in the middle section that sounds straight from the west coast.
2. not fade away: later became a hit for the rolling stones. buddy at his high and low end best. brilliant rhythm lead guitar. i hear a lot of hank williams. first ever jam song?
3. you've got love: barbershop quartet backing vocals. how did this dude think of all this shit?
4. maybe baby: rock and roll 101. just the name alone ranks it near the top of "cool dude" sayings. great, great song.
5. it's too late: precursor to the replacements within your reach? echo chamber. laying it on the line.
6. tell me how: special backing vox. mid song temo-downshift that defies imagination. speed bag baby. hi hats and amazing rhythm guitar.
7. that'll be the day: written after the famus john wayne line, "that'll be the day" from john ford's the searchers..
8. i'm looking for someone to love: 2 mins of rock bliss. buddy shreds his solo.
9. an empty cup (and a broken date): melancholy straight from lubbock.
10. send me some lovin: tug on the heart stings. more hiccups and oooh's. amazing vocals from buddy. great range.
11. last night: template for early pre-beatles, 60's radio. down in the deep well.
12. rock me my baby: opening guitar is so familiar, but can't quite place who used it successfully later on. breaks into a full on picking and grinning dance off.
to be continued....
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