| Product: |
The Best Of - Buddy Holly |
| Date: |
03.05.08 (56 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Unique
Disadvantages: R.I.P.
Although I'm a bit of a golden oldie fan at the best of times, Buddy Holly is still a bit before my time. But his music and his artistic talent was so brilliant that loads of people from my generation (and later even) love his music even if it is considered to be dated nowadays.
Buddy Holly was born Charles Holley in 1936 in Texas but was known by his middle name Buddy. The only reason he became Buddy Holly (without the 'e') was because of a mistake the office girl made when she was sorting out his first music contract with Decca records! So he remained Buddy Holly for the duration of his career, like a kind of stage name.
Buddy was best known playing alongside 'The Crickets' (Joe, Jerry and Niki) who were his band. They had huge hits with "Peggy Sue", "Rave On", "That'll Be the Day" and "Oh Boy". They're all really great rock n roll classics even by modern standards. If you like songs like "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley or "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets then you'll probably like Buddy's songs too.
In fact Buddy shot to fame really quickly in his late teens and played alongside both Elvis and Bill. He also got swept up in a whirlwind romance with a woman called Maria who he proposed to the first time he took her out on a date. She thought he was kidding but two months later they got married and stayed together! Buddy was very driven by his career despite this distraction though and this led to his falling out with his band mates.
It wasn't long after this fall out took place that Buddy bordered a private jet alongside The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens during a solo tour without his Crickets. Unfortunately, it was on 2nd February 1959 that the same plane crashed down near a lake leaving all three dead. Thanks to Madonna, I realise most people these days are pretty familiar with "American Pie" which was originally sung by Don McLean. He wrote in tribute to this terrible accident.
Buddy's widow was pregnant at the time of his death but the stress caused her to miscarry a few weeks later which was of course desperately sad. The music lived on for a few years after Buddy's demise though thanks to a load of previously unreleased material. Despite his hectic touring schedule while he was alive, Buddy had spent plenty of time in the studio which meant his record label had ample supplies to release after his death.
So despite only being in the public eye for just a few years, and dying at a youthful 22 years of age, Buddy Holly's career actually kept going for about a decade after he died. He's even said to have been a primary influence for the Beatles and Bob Dylan who've both publicly stated their regard for his talent and unique style of music.
What made Buddy Holly stand out from the crowd at that time was his eclectic attitudes I guess. He took bits of blues, bits of folk and bits of country even and fused them into rock n roll hits. If you listen to the music of other artists of that time, you'll notice that there aren't nearly as many instruments and styles of music incorporated into them as there are into Buddy's songs. And since time has moved on, through they hippy sixties and the metallic seventies, you don't get rock n roll mixed with acoustic guitars and polite vocals anymore. So despite music having 'moved on', really, Buddy Holly's music has remained in a little league of it's own because as soon as he conquered that style - everyone else moved away from it.
If you're interested in his music, I'd recommend picking up one the variety of "Best Of" collections available. You should be able to find one in any major music store including the trendy ones as Buddy Holly remains quite popular today.
Summary: Rock n Roll Forever!
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