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Holly gained popularity in 1957. Between the years of 1957 to 1959 he sang lead vocals and played lead guitar in the band Buddy Holly and the Crickets and later embarked upon his own solo career - although during his solo career the Crickets still played background on his albums. Holly was killed in an aircraft accident on February 2, 1959 in Clearlake, Iowa. Fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and Jiles Perry Richardson Jr known as “The Big Bopper” were also killed in the accident. Don McLean referred to the accident as the day the music died in his 1971 hit song.
“The irony is when he died in February 1959 at that point, for the next few years Holly is pretty much forgotten,” says rock ‘n’ roll historian Dr. David Aquila. “While other artists like Chuck Berry and Elvis were A’ s. Holly was a solid B and it’s not until the 1960’s that he’s elevated. Holly is probably much better known today then he was back then.”
Aquila attributed the revival of Buddy Holly and the Crickets music to artists like Bobby Vee, Tommy Roe and The Beatles. Each musician looked to Holly for musical inspiration and emulated him.
“For many teenagers when they heard about the death of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Richie Valens, It was the first time that many of the young kids had dealt with death. This was someone younger,” says Aquila. “From that perspective, that probably had a lot to with why Buddy Holly became such a myth in American society.”
Teenagers in the ‘50s went crazy for Holly’s music but does his music still rave on five decades later? It’s undeniable that the course of music has changed since Holly hit the Memphis stage and that rock ‘n’ roll has completely transformed through technological leaps in the music. Some music fans are skeptical over whether these advancements have really improved music or if the ‘50s really do mark the day the music died.
Elise French and Nicole Bonjour, both in their twenties, have a disdain for new music and an affinity for musicians and the culture of the ‘50s. They both see a change back to the ‘oldies’.
Kenneth Nichols and sister Edith Martin, both in their sixties, grew up in southern Texas, close to Lubbock, Texas where Holly was born. They both remember the popularity of Holly and the thrill of the new rock ‘n’ roll era and continue to listen to the music of the ‘50s.
“It was an exciting time,” says Martin. “Before everything was about the adults. The kids didn’t have a voice or an avenue – They didn’t have anything. Buddy Holly was to the kids of the fifties what the Beatles were to kids of the sixties. He was the cream of the crop.”
Today’s generation has no definitive band or music style that defines them. Regarding music throughout the decades and pop culture, Aquila said that people have to ask themselves what does this say about the society?
“I think music has evolved into a totally different beast than it used to be,” says French. “On one hand, popular music just gets bigger and more ridiculous and produced. On the other hand, it seems to me like more and more people are searching for something else.”
It seems bands have picked up this musical philosophy as well. Weezer pays homage to Holly in their song, “Buddy Holly”. The Raveonettes created their band name by combining Holly’s song “Rave On” with the ‘50s girl band The Ronettes. The lead singer of Weezer, Rivers Cuomo, still wears the thick black-rimmed style of glasses Holly wore to compensate for his 20/800 vision. Weezer and The Raveonettes each produce a sound reminiscent of Holly’s. Their bands go against the current mainstream music.
“Not to knock it, but to me music now-a-days is all degrading and there’s no romance,” says Nichols. “There’s no heart strings being pulled. I guess it’s because I’m old and I remember that music and how it was and how good it was to grab your partner and slow dance and sweep her off her feet.”
Store shelves and online shopping web sites show no trace of licensed Buddy Holly merchandise. A Buddy Holly box set doesn’t exist in the music market, either. Family members and recording companies are still in legal limbo over Holly’s royalties and likeness. It seems the only tangible thing fans can hold onto are an imitation pair of thick black-rimmed glasses or Gary Busey’s film adaption of the musician.
“Buddy Holly would have more of an influence on the music today if he was seen more,” says Bonjour. “It seems like out an out of sight, out of mind thing or out of sounds out of mind.”
What would the 72-year-old Buddy Holly be doing now? Prior to his death, Holly was working on developing a recording studio and producing musicians like Ritchie Valens and Waylon Jennings.
“Music was going in a different direction by the early ‘60s,” says Aquila. “It’s possible that Holly could have made the transition. He was practicing the use of strings…But who knows.”
Martin believes that Holly may have made the transition as well.
“I think he would’ve been like Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys,” says Martin. “Extremely talented, able to contribute in his writing, honing his natural music. Anybody can sing, can get up and sing a song but not everybody can write and not everybody can create.”
Holly is often reveled as the forefather of rock ‘n’ roll. It seems society misses their rock ‘n’ roll royalty. The current revival of Holly’s music may be telling of society’s musical wishes and perhaps the desire to have their heart strings pulled once more from Holly’s Fender Stratocaster because he really struck a chord in the hearts of many generations.
