Long before stadium rock existed, a teenager from Lubbock, Texas, walked into a studio with a Stratocaster, black-framed glasses, and a completely new vision for pop music.
Buddy Holly’s career spanned less than four short years before a tragic 1959 plane crash that took his life. Yet his legacy, built on hits like “Peggy Sue” and “Rave On,” fundamentally changed how bands wrote, recorded, and performed their own songs.
As fans celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday, Holly’s influence remains ingrained in the DNA of modern rock ‘n’ roll. Without his unforgettable songwriting, groups like The Beatles might never have found their sound.
What makes his legacy even more remarkable is that he built the blueprint for modern rock before most people even finished college.
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Buddy Holly and bassist Joe B. Mauldin perform during the Alan Freed Show in New York/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)According to the Texas State Historical Association, Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley on September 7, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas. He made his stage debut at just five years old, teaming up with his brothers at a local talent show in County Line to take home a five-dollar prize for their performance of “Down the River of Memories.”
By age eleven, he was taking piano lessons. After a brief stint with the steel guitar, he picked up an acoustic guitar and taught himself how to play.
It was at Hutchinson Junior High School that he befriended Bob Montgomery and later, the two added Larry Welborn to their group. Later, the Crickets were comprised of Holly, Montgomery, Joe B. Mauldin, Jerry Allison, and Niki Sullivan.
On May 27, 1957, Brunswick Records released the very first Crickets single: “That’ll Be the Day,” with “I’m Looking for Someone to Love” on the B-side. It didn’t take long for the track to climb all the way to No. 3 on the pop charts and cross over to hit No. 2 on the R&B charts.
The TSHA wrote, “In late December, Holly’s second solo single, ‘Peggy Sue,’ backed with ‘Everyday,’ reached Number 3 on the pop and R&B charts. The Crickets’ second single, ‘Oh Boy!,’ backed with ‘Not Fade Away,’ was released in October 1957 and sold close to a million copies.”
The Beatles were heavily influenced by Holly. In an interview for The Ronnie Wood Show, Paul McCartney revealed just how important the rock pioneer was to his own career. McCartney noted that while he and John Lennon admired Elvis Presley, Holly was the one who truly blew their minds because he wrote his own material and played his own solos.
McCartney revealed, “We loved Buddy because he wrote his stuff. Elvis didn’t write his stuff.”
He continued, “Buddy wrote, and played, and played the solos. He was a self-contained guy, which is what we were and wanted to emulate.”
After splitting with The Crickets in late 1958 due to a desire to base himself in New York City, Buddy Holly launched a solo career. He also played a key role in launching and supporting the careers of artists and producers like Waylon Jennings, Norman Petty, Sonny Curtis, and my father, Lou Giordano, whose single “Don’t Cha Know,” backed with “Stay Close to Me,” was written and produced by Holly himself.
In February 1959, Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson were part of the “Winter Dance Party” tour. The weather conditions made travel by bus so difficult that Holly chartered a small plane to take them from Clear Lake, Iowa, to their next gig in Minnesota. The group never reached their destination after pilot Roger Peterson lost control of the plane and it crashed. Holly was 22 when he died.
Buddy Holly would have turned 90 today. His birthday will be commemorated with a free Birthday Bash at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas.
Related: Brian Wilson Was Completely ‘Blown Away’ By This 1971 Rock Masterpiece, One of the Greatest Songs Ever Written
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