Cover Story: Buddy Holly: A Friend I Never Met
Randy Steele, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
It's hard to fathom that I am lucky enough to know people from around the world because of Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
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Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Buddy Holly, a rock-and-roll legend and favorite son of Lubbock, Texas, lived only 22 years before his life was cut tragically short due to a plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 3, 1959. His musical career spanned a mere 18 months, and yet his legacy continues to grow, even six decades later. The influence of Buddy Holly is so enormous that it is almost impossible to calculate. There are countless musicians and artists who list Buddy as a driving influence to their own careers.

Most early rock-and-roll fans can recite the “quick facts” about Buddy Holly … he was born in Lubbock, Texas, made some of the best hits of the 1950s era, he died in a plane crash in 1959, and there’s a movie that tells you all about it. Only it doesn’t.

I became a fan of Buddy Holly and the Crickets in the early 1970s. I can remember listening to 45-rpm records of the Crickets singing “That’ll Be The Day,” and I loved the song. I purchased “The Chirping Crickets” album and relished all of those songs, too. When I heard Don McLean sing “American Pie” in 1971 about “the day the music died” and I learned part of the song was about Buddy Holly, I really wanted to know more. In 1978, “The Buddy Holly Story” was released on the silver screen, starring Gary Busey. There are some fans who don’t like the movie because of its extreme poetic license but for me, it brought Buddy Holly back to life! I appreciated the movie then and now.

In 1983, I moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University. I could not believe that I was living in Buddy Holly’s hometown. I drove past Lubbock High School and visited the Buddy Holly statue many times. In 1986, my college roommate was riding around town on his bike and had a flat tire. He approached a home and requested to use their telephone. The homeowner was Buddy’s brother, Travis Holley. My roommate told Travis about my love for Buddy’s music and Travis invited me over. I had the chance to see Buddy’s guitar, his boots, clothing, wallets, and caps, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. I was hooked.

After that night at Travis’ house, I became obsessed with learning about Buddy. I spent a great deal of time with Travis, studying Buddy’s history. I discovered that Buddy Holly historian Bill Griggs lived in Lubbock, and we became fast friends. Bill was producing “Reminiscing” newsletters and magazines and I bought everything he published.

Through Bill Griggs, I had the opportunity to befriend other Buddy Holly fans and collectors. I was introduced to Chris Rees from England, and soon learned that Chris is an expert on Buddy Holly-related photos. I discovered Roddy Jordan, a record collector and author from Australia, who knows more about Buddy Holly and the Crickets’ 1958 Australia tour with Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka than anyone I have ever known. I met Kevin Terry and Danny Todd from Oklahoma, two guys who are very knowledgeable about the plane crash and the Norman Petty Studios, where Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded the majority of their hits.

Over the past two decades, I have spent a considerable amount of time with these friends. We have attended music festivals together. We have spent time together in Lubbock, Dallas, Clovis, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and even the Surf Ballroom (the site of Buddy’s final performance). We have spent thousands of hours together and on the telephone, all in the name of Buddy Holly’s music. It’s hard to fathom that I am lucky enough to know people from around the world because of Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

I once asked Bill Griggs where I could buy an authentic Buddy Holly autograph. And Bill told he would sell me one. It was a signed check and, when I held it in my hands, I felt like I was holding a bolt of lightning! I love the feeling of owning something that Buddy once held or that he owned. I have searched far and wide for Buddy Holly memorabilia and purchased it with Bill Griggs’ help. I am fortunate to own several items – personal checks, contracts, clothing, and even a pair of Buddy Holly’s personal sunglasses. I feel a real duty by owning Buddy’s “things” and I want to honor his memory – and do so by placing some of those items on display in museums, such as the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock.

I am thrilled to have a place in Lubbock like the Buddy Holly Center. They have some of Buddy’s most personal items, and the BHC is blessed with an incredible staff. They know Buddy’s story and they understand his legacy and are dedicated to making sure his story is told. I believe Lubbock is doing a terrific job these days in promoting Buddy Holly – with historical markers around town, murals, the West Texas Walk of Fame that includes Buddy’s statue, Lubbock streets named after Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and of course, I am excited to see the new $150 million Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences being constructed in downtown.

I am convinced that Buddy Holly’s legacy will never die. Why? Because the music that Buddy Holly and the Crickets played and the things they sang about are timeless. People – young and old – relate to falling in love and love lost. Buddy Holly is forever 22, something many people long for, to be young again. In reality, his story is our story, and it never ends because people will always experience these same emotions.

After seeing “The Buddy Holly Story” movie premier in 1978 and being disgusted with the poetic license of the movie, Crickets lead singer and guitarist Sonny Curtis went home and wrote the song “The Real Buddy Holly Story.” In the song Sonny sings, “Well, the levee ain’t dry, and the music didn’t die, ’cause Buddy Holly lives every time we play rock-and-roll!” When we think about it, “The Buddy Holly Story” is not about how Buddy Holly died, it is about how he lived.

While I never intended it, Buddy Holly has become a friend to me. His story and his music have introduced me to countless friends and to the Holley family. Through my own research, I feel like I know Buddy to some degree, and I feel a deep responsibility to honor him whenever possible. I am grateful to Buddy’s life and music and for all it has given to me. I often consider how we can take Buddy’s music and legacy to the next level, and I think about what Buddy means to me, my friends, and the rest of world. Of all the things I have ever read about Buddy Holly, I believe his life and legacy are best expressed by John Goldrosen, author of “Remembering Buddy, The Definitive Biography of Buddy Holly.” In his book, Goldrosen concludes with the following passage:

“Buddy Holly was not a giant, or a god – but he was sort of a hero. Though a star, he still sounded and looked like a friend. He was one with his listeners, with one important difference; he could successfully express through his music the feelings those listeners could not express for themselves. And since he was unusual only in his ambition, perseverance and musical talents, his concerns were shared by his audience. When he sang his song, his audience could claim it for their song, too.

Buddy Holly’s life was an enactment of the American dream, and his music mirrored its spirit. What we long for, we never quite obtain, and yet we keep reaching; and if we have no reason to be sure of the outcome, we cling to our faith that the effort will not go unrewarded. In Holly’s music, there is this knowing trust in the very process of life – a willingness to hope for the best, even when it is unrealistic to expect it. The promise may have failed in the past, but there is still hope that this time, or the next time, the promise will be fulfilled; and so we all think we see a light, though it be but dim and distant. As we listen to Buddy Holly’s songs, they bring us closer to the glow, and the light burns brighter.”

Rave On, Buddy Holly, Rave On.

Memories of Buddy Holly, An Australian Perspective

By Roddy Jordan

“Mum, it can’t be Buddy Holly – he doesn’t look anything like the photo on the cover of the other LP!”

I distinctly recall saying this to my mother after seeing the newly released photo of Holly looking up into the sky wearing thin, wire-rimmed glasses. This was in comparison to the then-familiar black, horn-rimmed versions issued on previous records. I was a child of 12 when this happened, and for some reason I have never forgotten it. I am referring to the cover of Holly’s LP titled “The Buddy Story Volume Two” as opposed to the cover of the first volumes cover.

Allow me to start from the beginning. I come from a family of seven sisters and three brothers, and along with my mum and dad, we all loved music, whether it be Australian hillbilly, country-and-western from America, crooners, classical, pop and little ’ole me loving rock-and-roll. I was the only one in the family to enjoy that genre of music. I listened to the music through a crystal set I had made. My singing idol at that time was Hank Williams and incidentally, he still is.

In November 1957, whilst listening to the local radio station, a song started that was to change my life! I listened, being both fascinated and enthralled by the sounds emanating from the drums and the brilliant guitar work. I mean, how did that drummer get that sound? After the song had finished, the announcer said that he had received numerous requests to repeat it and although it was not station policy to do so, he obliged. That song was called “Peggy Sue.”

The music was mesmerising. How was I to know that one day that very drummer (Jerry Allison) and the girl the song was named after (Peggy Sue Gerron) would become dear friends? Remember, I was a child still going to school in an outback town called Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands in New South Wales, Australia, a far cry from Lubbock, Texas, a place – at that time – I had never heard of.

I was hooked on this music! But I could not get over the feeling that I had heard the singer’s voice somewhere before, and it wasn’t until a while later that I learned the singer of “Peggy Sue” was also the lead singer and guitarist for the Crickets’ (“That’ll Be The Day”) a song that was also riding the charts.

Even more intriguing, the same band members were in both groups. Very puzzling for a 12-year-old boy, especially when both songs were on different labels, with Holly being released on Coral and the Crickets on Brunswick. I bought every single record they released in Australia, big ones and little ones. I had a paper run at the time. The music and life of Buddy Holly and the Crickets became, not an obsession for me, but one of love and admiration. I loved both the simplicity and also complexity of the music, the unusual songs, and the many examples of talent contained within them. I am now 71 years of age and my love for the music has not diminished at all, in fact, it has grown throughout the years. I have always admired artists who wrote, sang and played their own songs. However, more puzzlement was to come.

In the early sixties, another LP was issued here in Australia, and this was even more discomfiting to a young Aussie kid. The cover showed a photo of Buddy Holly taken without his glasses on. I was even more confused than ever at this stage. What had happened to the image of this man I had grown to love and admire? As a child, I felt someone was trying to destroy his image but that of course, was nonsense. But to a 12-year-old boy, things can get taken out of context.

In October 1957, contracts were signed to bring the Crickets to Australia (January/February 1958) along with Paul Anka (the headliner), Jerry Lee Lewis, and a young girl named Jodie Sands from Philadelphia. They were to play in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne. Brisbane was the closest to where I lived, four hours’ drive away, and I begged my parents to take me, but they said no. Then I asked some of my older sisters and their then-boyfriends but nobody else liked that type of music. Unfortunately, I had no takers. This was devastating to me, so I watched and took note of the tour as it went around the eastern side of the country. I remember this happening like it was yesterday, and this tour was the third for rock-and-roll artists to visit Australia. Previous tours included Bill Haley, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, Gene Vincent and others.

However, one thing emerged from this tour and that happened in January 1958, just before the Crickets arrived in Australia. The promoters found out that when they had signed the Crickets, they did not know that the lead singer was Buddy Holly, the singer of “Peggy Sue”/”Everyday.” They could not believe their luck and had to hurriedly change all the flyers, etc., so that the patrons who attended the shows knew Buddy Holly was here in Australia.

When the Crickets departed Australia on the 6 February, 1958, they left behind a legion of fans. To this day, their music is played on Australian radio stations throughout the country. What is not that well known was the same promoters were lining up a second tour for Holly and this was to happen in mid-June 1959. The main difference here was his backing group were not coming with him, as by this juncture, they had parted ways. That is another story within itself.

Although I have to accept that one of my singing idols has died, I would rather celebrate his life and his music not his death. I clearly remember back in February 1959 listening to the news that was being broadcast on our old stand-up radio. I begged my mum to allow me to stay home from school so I could gather it all in, but she refused and so I went. All my friends were aware of my enjoyment of his music and gave me condolences, even one of my teachers.

It was one of the worst days of my life! But we can be thankful that we still have his music to listen to and three videos of him singing on the “The Ed Sullivan Show.”