BUDDY - THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY BACKSTAGE GUIDE 5 Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was a central figure of mid- 1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records. In the contract, Decca misspelled Holley's last name as "Holly" and from then on, he was known as "Buddy Holly". Holly was unhappy with the results of his time with Decca, and decided to visit record producer Norman Petty. Together with drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan, Holly went to Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. The group recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day", a song they had previously recorded in Nashville. Now playing lead guitar, Holly achieved the sound he desired. Petty became his manager and sent the record to Brunswick Records in New York City. Holly, still under contract with Decca, could not release the record under his name, so a band name was used; Allison proposed the name "Crickets". In September 1957, as the band toured, "That'll Be the Day" topped charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, "Peggy Sue". During a visit to the offices of Peer-South, Holly met María Elena Santiago. He asked her out on their first meeting and proposed marriage to her on their first date. The wedding took place on August 15, 1958. Petty disapproved of the marriage and advised Holly to keep it secret to avoid upsetting Holly's female fans. Petty's reaction created friction with Holly, who had also started to question Petty's bookkeeping. Holly ended his association with Petty in December 1958, and also split from the Crickets. Petty was still holding the money from the royalties, forcing Holly to form a new band and return to touring. In early 1959, Holly embarked on a tour of the Midwest called the “Winter Dance Party Tour.” After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered an airplane to travel to his next show. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died". Buddy Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Weezer, and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ABOUT BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS From top: Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, and Joe Mauldin Buddy Holly and the Crickets album cover (edited from Wikipedia.org)