History Music / BuddyHolly

* The self-contained band that wrote its own songs. Previously, agents known as "Artists and Repertoire", or A&R men, would hook up singers with songs, and instruments were played by session musicians. Music/TheBeatles changed that, but they were following the Crickets. (A cover of "That'll Be The Day" was the very first song recorded by the Quarry Men, the Beatles' precursors. The Beatles would go on to cover Holly's song "Words of Love" years later.)

"That'll Be The Day" was their first big hit. They hired Norman as manager, and set off on tour in August 1957. As they toured, more singles from the Clovis sessions were released, including the hits "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy!", and after a new session to fill it out, the album ''The "Chirping" Crickets''. They played on ''AmericanBandstand'' and ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', and were international stars by the time they came back home in December. Niki left at this point, sick of touring, and the Crickets continued as a trio. They toured Australia, Britain, and America again in early 1958. Meanwhile, the Clovis sessions produced more singles, including the hit "Maybe Baby". A session in New York produced the hit "Rave On!" and filled out his next album, ''Buddy Holly''. Decca cashed in on his success by releasing his mediocre work from 1956 on the album ''That'll Be The Day'', which would turn out to be the last album released during Buddy's lifetime.

In New York, he made many plans: An album with Ray Charles, a gospel album, a country-rock album, a new home for his parents, a studio in Lubbock, maybe even a career in movies. He also made some home demos, known today as the Apartment Tapes, in December '58 and January '59. Meanwhile, the last single released during his lifetime, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"/"Raining In My Heart", from the New York orchestral sessions, came out on January 5.

He agreed to headline a package tour with J. D. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts. He put together a new Crickets, with Tommy Allsup, and a couple of aspiring young Lubbock musicians: WaylonJennings on bass, and Carl Bunch on drums. The Winter Dance Party tour, beginning on January 23, 1959, was a miserable experience. They played every night, and when they weren't on stage, they were riding a bus through the middle of winter in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Bus after bus broke down, leaving them stranded in the cold. The Big Bopper caught a cold, and Carl Bunch got frostbite and had to go to the hospital. Clothes didn't get washed, and nobody got any rest. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, more than 400 miles lay between them and the next stop in Moorhead, Minnesota. Buddy decided to charter a plane for himself and his band, which would give them time to rest and do the laundry. The other musicians found out about the flight, and begged for a ride. The Big Bopper got Waylon's seat, and Ritchie Valens got Tommy's.

* GriefSong: None by him, but several about him, most famously Music/DonMcLean's "American Pie".

* AscendedExtra: Waylon Jennings, the Crickets bass player, would go on to become and extremely influential country star.

* AscendedExtra: Waylon Jennings.

* ThePeteBest: Bob Montgomery, Larry Welborn

* Dying too soon, leaving everyone to wonder [[WhatCouldHaveBeen what might have been]].

-->''"A love to last more than one day; a love that's love, not fade away....."''

Born as Charles Hardin Holley, '''Buddy Holly''' (September 7, 1936 -- February 3, 1959) was a tragic pioneer of RockAndRoll, and one of the three musicians whose death became known as The Day the Music Died.. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, into a family where almost everybody played an instrument and sang CountryMusic. He got his nickname Buddy as a child. He started learning piano and guitar at 11, and was influenced by country & western, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, and the music of his church. He formed a band with his best friend Bob Montgomery, and got a gig at a local radio station, adding bassist Larry Welborn and drummer Jerry Allison. There he heard, and covered, the first rock songs, just as they were coming out in 1954 and '55, before rock became mainstream.

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 -- February 3, 1959) was a tragic pioneer of RockAndRoll, and one of the three musicians whose death became known as The Day the Music Died.. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, into a family where almost everybody played an instrument and sang CountryMusic. He got his nickname Buddy as a child. He started learning piano and guitar at 11, and was influenced by country & western, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, and the music of his church. He formed a band with his best friend Bob Montgomery, and got a gig at a local radio station, adding bassist Larry Welborn and drummer Jerry Allison. There he heard, and covered, the first rock songs, just as they were coming out in 1954 and '55, before rock became mainstream.

* Dying too soon, leaving everyone to wonder what might have been.

* AuthorExistenceFailure

* ExecutiveMeddling: Played straight at the Nashville sessions. Averted in Clovis, where Norman Petty granted unlimited studio time. Played straight again after Buddy's death. He left behind dozens of demo tapes of unfinished songs; sometimes recorded with a band, sometimes just him and his acoustic guitar. During the '60s, these songs were released with meddlesome overdubs to bring them up to commercial standards.

* NerdGlasses: He started wearing especially thick frames to emphasise the fact--after performing one set without glasses and being unable to find his plectrum after dropping it, he was determined to make glasses part of his image.

* ShortLivedBigImpact

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Need we say more?
----

A tragic pioneer of RockAndRoll, and one of the three musicians whose death became known as The Day the Music Died.

Charles Hardin Holley was born on 7 September 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, into a family where almost everybody played an instrument and sang CountryMusic. He got his nickname Buddy as a child. He started learning piano and guitar at 11, and was influenced by country & western, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, and the music of his church. He formed a band with his best friend Bob Montgomery, and got a gig at a local radio station, adding bassist Larry Welborn and drummer Jerry Allison. There he heard, and covered, the first rock songs, just as they were coming out in 1954 and '55, before rock became mainstream.

Charles Hardin Holley was born in 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, into a family where almost everybody played an instrument and sang CountryMusic. He got his nickname Buddy as a child. He started learning piano and guitar at 11, and was influenced by country & western, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, and the music of his church. He formed a band with his best friend Bob Montgomery, and got a gig at a local radio station, adding bassist Larry Welborn and drummer Jerry Allison. There he heard, and covered, the first rock songs, just as they were coming out in 1954 and '55, before rock became mainstream.

* The self-contained band that wrote its own songs. Previously, agents known as "Artists and Repertoire", or A&R men, would hook up singers with songs, and instruments were played by session musicians. Music/TheBeatles changed that, but they were following the Crickets.

* AGoodNameForARockBand: TheHollies thought so. So did JohnLennon; note that both the Crickets and Music/TheBeatles are insect-based names.
** A cover of "That'll Be The Day" was the very first song recorded by the Quarry Men, the Beatles' precursors. The Beatles would go on to cover Holly's song "Words of Love" years later.

* CountryMusic

Decca Records' country music division signed him in early '56 (chopping the 'e' off his last name), and amidst heavy ExecutiveMeddling, he recorded some material, including an early version of "That'll Be The Day". But Decca didn't know what to do with him, and didn't renew his contract.

->''"Yeah... Buddy Holly... check m' out... [[MotherFBomb bad motherfucker]]. Holly passed it on via Music/TheBeatles and via [[Music/TheRollingStones us]]. He's in everybody... this is not bad for a guy from Lubbock, right?"''

* {{Music/Instrumentals}}: "Holly Hop"

* AGoodNameForARockBand: TheHollies thought so. So did JohnLennon; note that both the Crickets and TheBeatles are insect-based names.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Need we say more?

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buddy-holly5_8208.jpg

* GriefSong: None by him, but several about him, most famously {{Don McLean}}'s "American Pie".

* EpicRiff: "Peggy Sue"

* FirstAndForemost: Because Buddy's originals are associated with the innocence of the '50s, this is strongly enforced.

His life story was adapated as the film ''The Buddy Holly Story'' and the musical ''Buddy''.

* The self-contained band that wrote its own songs. Previously, agents known as "Artists and Repertoire", or A&R men, would hook up singers with songs, and instruments were played by session musicians. TheBeatles changed that, but they were following the Crickets.