Buddy Holly: ’Day the Music Died,’ 50 years ago

kansascity ^ | Feb. 03, 2009 | By PAMELA HUEY

[Flavius]

DULUTH, Minn. — The rickety old bus pulled out of the Duluth Armory late on Saturday, Jan. 31, 1959, and headed across St. Louis Bay into the frigid Wisconsin night.

On board were some exhausted and stinky rock ’n’ rollers and their harried manager. The Winter Dance Party tour had just finished its ninth gig in as many days and was headed for Appleton and Green Bay, Wis., for two shows that Sunday.

[Cincinna]

“Blame Canada!”

We are talking here about the American Experience, which shaped our lives and our culture. It is totally different from the Canadian, French, English, or other experience.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Did they have the set lists for the show that night?

[FlingWingFlyer]

I’ve never been able to find anything like that.

[Chunga]

The only difference between 50’s and 80’s pop music is the addition of synthesizers and an occasionally increased tempo.

I'm assuming you aren't a receptionist.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Good article on earlier '59 show: Fans revel in Buddy Holly stop in Eau Claire.

[death2tyrants]

There's a difference between good and GREAT.

Duran Duran was a great band. They had a bunch of great hits during the 80's.

If you can think of any Duran Duran songs with GREAT legendary guitar, let me know.

Andy Taylor is a fine guitarist. I particulary like his work with supergroup The Power Station. Ever here the guitar on 'Some Like It Hot'?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

There is an anecdotal set list for the show of 1/23/59 in Milwaukee at Devine's Million Dollar Ballroom:

Gotta Travel On
That'll Be the Day
Everyday
Maybe Baby
It Doesn't Matter Anymore
True Love ways
Heartbeat
Peggy Sue
Oh Boy!
Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
It's So Easy
Not Fade Away(eoncore)
Bo Diddley (encore)
Rave On(encore)
(another source suggests also):
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
Be Bop A Lula

Here

[death2tyrants]

junk like Duran Duran and co. will not be remembered.

It will by me. I have fond memories of the rise of music videos in the 1980's, and Duran Duran was always on MTV, back when MTV used to play music.

[packrat35]

Sorry but Nirvana sucked. Kurt was a freak and his wife a nutter.

[death2tyrants]

Wrong, but thanks for playing.

What do you find inaccurate about my claim? Musically speaking? It's all blues, see. I remember learing the pentatonic blues scales and playing songs note for note simultaneously. For example, I remember learning G penatonic blues minor, and the first six notes were the very fist 6 notes of the Beatles song Long, Long, Long. 50's pop rock and 80's pop rock are both pop rock. Variations on blues. Difference being an increased tempo and a heavy relaince on synthesizers.

Try a little cold-war context.

What does the cold war have to do with it? Both eras were during the cold war. Before the cold war you had lots of jazz. Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, great singers like Helen Ward and Helen Forrest...(I'm a big Lawrence Welk fan, by the way).

[Liberty Valance]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Not Fade Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0wVtFY7ojo

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

If Simon LeBon did a throwback tribute to Buddy Holly with an unplugged cover of “It’s So Easy” or “Words of Love”...you might be able to change my mind. I hope he does. ‘Cause, God knows, kids need to hear SOMETHING with an actual melody these days. And they seem to like it when they do.

[death2tyrants]

If Duran Duran had played...The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957 influencing both the future Rolling Stones and Beatles, you might have a point.

Well, since Duran Duran's guitarist hadn't been born yet, I'm willing to give the guy a pass. ;-)

the Fender lead..

I had a Fender once. It was a twelve string accoustic. I used to play a lot of Led Zeppelin on it. Zeppelin used a heck of a lot of 12 string accustic, particularly on their thrid album. I got tired of the high action, and I couldn't lower it without getting fret buzz, so I traded it in for a marshall amp. I play a cedar top Rubio Solista now. I also have a Hill Munich spruce. I've been strictly classical for over a decade now.

[death2tyrants]

I'm assuming you aren't a receptionist.

No Sir, I'm a musician.

[Liberty Valance]

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

I think it's that Buddy Holly played a formidable role in inventing Rock-n-Roll in the 1950s. Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Bill Haley & the Comets, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ritchie Valiens, Gene Vincent, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Dion & the Belmonts, The Isley Brothers, Link Wray , Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, the stuff that influenced the Beatles and Rolling Stones (I'm sure I'm forgetting and leaving out important people)...but basically this would be legendary status from the 1950s. Check out the Gary Busey film "The Buddy Holly Story" (1978). Holly's guitar on "That'll Be the Day" and "Not Fade Away" was pivotal in all of this with Ricky Nelson watching Ed Sullivan and the future Beatles and Stones listening and copying. There's no need to view it as generational conflict.

And then these guys all dying in the same crash. For teenagers that was a big deal. Don McLean turns it into a great song in 1971 with "American Pie." We need songs with melodies. LeBon does have a good and powerful voice. Both are part of the same musical tradition.

[death2tyrants]

Agreed. And that was well summarized on your part. I’ve seen The Buddy Holly Story also. You’re right, that was a good movie. Another good movie related to the crash was La Bamba. It’s one of my favorites.

[donna]

Sleep Walk is by Santo & Johnny. How did Richie Valens name get on there? I think I’m right . . . ?

[HawaiianGecko]

"I am tired of these constant media orgies over what are minor events in history."   If they were minor events in history, you wouldn't be hearing of them.  Duran Duran did not shape culture and will not go down in history. 

It's not just boomer music either.  Billie Holliday's Strange Fruit was extraordinarily moving and kindled the civil rights movement.  A simple gospel, We Shall Overcome, sung by many protester types in the late 50's and 60's (Joan Baez for example) furthered that movement.  John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance was sung by tens of millions around the world in protest to the Vietnam war.  There were literally dozens maybe hundreds of songs that moved not only millions of people but entire governments. 

50s music was playful, 60s was protest oriented and the 70s was just flat out good. (if you remove The Bee Gees and commercial disco crap) The problem with 70s music is that all the good songs were long and didn't fit with the commercialization of the industry.  My oldest (38) and youngest (25) both own a copy of every Pink Floyd, Super Tramp, Kansas, Styx album in existence. Come to think of it, they also have Willie & Waylon, Diana Krall & Dave Grusin.  The point is what is lacking in their libraries... pop music of the last 20 years.

Boomer's had music as entertainment.  We didn't have television in our cars, we had AM radios and we waited with anticipation for the Friday release of the top 40 hits. We didn't have the nearly unlimited types of entertainment available to us, as Gen-X and post generations have, to distract us.  All of our energies were focused upon cars, music and girls. Hence, the cars were faster/fancier/more customized, the music was better/louder/more intense and the girls were hotter/softer and IMHO brighter.

In short, you will still be hearing about Elvis 50 years from now.  You won't hear a peep about Duran Duran.

[HawaiianGecko]

"Sleep Walk is by Santo & Johnny. How did Richie Valens name get on there? I think I’m right . . . ?"   You are.  The song was composed by Santo Farina, Johnny Farina and Ann Farina (their mother)... copyrighted and recorded in 1959.  It plays at the beginning and end of the movie La Bamba and is probably the source of the confusion.  Of course it also played in Twelve Monkeys, but I didn't hear any mention of Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt or Madeleine Stowe.