BUDDY - THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY BACKSTAGE GUIDE 11 May 27, 1957: “That’ll be the Day” is released and shortly after the band begins touring as Buddy Holly and the Crickets. August 16 - 22, 1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets play the iconic Apollo Theater in New York City. August 26, 1957: Holly appears on American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark. September 9, 1957: the Civil Rights Act of 1957 becomes the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress since Reconstruction. September 1957: School desegregation begins in Little Rock, Arkansas. September 20, 1957: Coral releases "Peggy Sue", backed with "Everyday", with Holly credited as the performer. By October, "Peggy Sue" reaches number three on Billboard's pop chart. October 4, 1957: Soviets launch Sputnik and the "space race" begins. December 1, 1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets perform "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Following the appearance, Niki Sullivan leaves the group because of the intensive touring. January 26, 1958: Buddy Holly makes his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show performing “Oh, Boy!” February 20, 1958: Buddy Holly’s self-titled solo album is released. February 1958: Buddy Holly and the Crickets tour Australia, followed by a 25 city tour in the U.K. in March and a 41 city U.S. tour in April. July 29, 1958: NASA formed as the U.S. begins ramping up efforts to explore space. August 15, 1958: Buddy Holly marries Maria Elena Santiago. December 1958: Holly ends his association with Norman Petty, and Holly also splits from the Crickets, who are still represented by Petty. January 3, 1959: Alaska became the 49th U.S. state. January 23, 1959: The “Winter Dance Party” tour— featuring Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, Dion and the Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo—begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. February 2, 1959: Buddy Holly performs his final show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. February 3, 1959: Shortly after 12:55am, Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the pilot Roger Peterson are killed instantly when their plane crashes into a cornfield in Iowa. The event later becomes known as "The Day the Music Died”, as named in Don McLean’s 1971 song “American Pie”. Buddy Holly on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958 Buddy Holly performing at the Surf Ballroom in 1959: his final performance (edited from Wikipedia.org)