Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, a small Beechcraft Bonanza 35 crashed, killing rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Don McLean later immortalized the day as The Day the Music Died in his song, "American Pie."
Holly's national career lasted only a year and a half. He was twenty-two when he died. Still, Holly is described by music critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll." Among those who credit Holly as an inspiration and influence for their music are The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton,
Bob Dylan says that Buddy Holly "transcended nostalgia" and "just as valid to me today as then." Keith Richards says "Holly passed it on via the Beatles and via us [The Rolling Stones]. He's in everybody . . . this is not bad for a guy from Lubbock, right?" According to John Lennon: "I WAS Buddy Holly."
The last thing Bruce Springsteen does before he takes the stage for a concert is to spend five to ten minutes with his iPod, listening to Buddy Holly. As Springsteen says "it keeps me honest."
Click on a picture and it will take you to a Buddy Holly music video, the radio broadcast of the crash news, or an annotated video of American Pie.
It's a rare week that goes by when I don't put on the Buddy Holly playlist. And like many fans, I've left a guitar pick at Charles Hardin Holley's gravesite in Lubbock. Twice. I can't imagine what he would have done with more than a year and a half in rock and roll.
For a more detailed look:
Buddy Holly - The Last Day (Video Documentary, Part 1)
Buddy Holly - The Last Day (Video Documentary, Part 2)