The Day the Music Died - the Buddy Holly thread

[HippieLettuce]

February 3rd, 1959.

Rest In Peace, Buddy....

[billy007]

46 years of wondering "what might've been"?

(edit to correct bad math!)

[Buschman]

Actually billy it's 46 years. Holly - 22 (Charles Hardin Holley), the Big Bopper - 28 (Jiles Perry Richardson Jr.), and Ritchie Valens -17 (Richard Valenzuela) died on February 3, 1959. What is truely a sad day in history...

[Casemeister]

Buddy Holly... a freakin' musical GENIUS. He had SO many plans. I listened to "From The Original Master Tapes" last night... what an amazing artist.

[Casemeister]

And a great loss that's still felt, I should add.

[Metal Marc]

Wow. Feb 3rd just went and passed me by. I've been so busy at work I didn't even think of it or hear about it. I haven't watched TV or the news in over a week.

I really like Buddy Holly. Such great music and great memories for me. When I was five my neighbors had a band. They'd just get together on weekends and play in the garage for the fun of it. No gigs, no aspirations of stardom. Just the love of music. First song I remember them playing is "Not Fade Away". I thought they wrote it until they told me it was a Buddy Holly song. I got a BH record the next day at the Lake Havasu library and listened to it for a week straight.

RIP Mr. Valens, Mr. Richardson, & Mr. Holly. All of you are loved and missed.

[speedtruckermf]

Let's not forget Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on that plane as he was Holly's bass player, but lost a coin toss with the Big Bopper. We all heard what Waylon had the chance to achieve, makes you wonder what the others would have done.

[RRMB]

I worked in Mason City/Clear Lake for a year. the oldies station in the building I worked at used to have a big Surf Reunion.

They'd bring in the original Crickets, BH's widow Maria Elena, The Bopper's family and The Valenzuela's. Then have all these old time rock bands play too. Gary US Bonds, Waylon jennings would come. It was a really big deal.

They did the whole thing at The Surf Ballroom. I happened to be with Waylon and Maria as they walked in the stage doors and the both froze at the threashhold turned, looked at each other and started to cry loudly with each other. Little did I know, it was the first time that Waylon had been back to Clear Lake SINCE the accident. He always felt that The Surf was cursed forever after that. He played the county fair, but NEVER went back to The Surf.

He made the comment to those of us lucky enough to be right there, that he "feels the hands of angels are leading him back to where he is supposed to be; so I can heal my mind, restore my spirit and mend my broken heart."

It was awe inspiring to see him with the Crickets again and share the stage with the families sharing memories about everyone. He told one of the news guys during an interview that Ritchie was the sweetest, most sincere and unassuming kid he ever met and has never seen in the music industry since.

Just to get 3 days of in your face music history like that is the most unreal thing a DJ could EVER experience. It ranks in my top 5 moments in my radio career.

Here's a cool link for you to peruse

Buddy Holly Link

[HippieLettuce]

I worked in Mason City/Clear Lake for a year. the oldies station in the building I worked at used to have a big Surf Reunion.

They'd bring in the original Crickets, BH's widow Maria Elena, The Bopper's family and The Valenzuela's. Then have all these old time rock bands play too. Gary US Bonds, Waylon jennings would come. It was a really big deal.

They did the whole thing at The Surf Ballroom. I happened to be with Waylon and Maria as they walked in the stage doors and the both froze at the threashhold turned, looked at each other and started to cry loudly with each other. Little did I know, it was the first time that Waylon had been back to Clear Lake SINCE the accident. He always felt that The Surf was cursed forever after that. He played the county fair, but NEVER went back to The Surf.

He made the comment to those of us lucky enough to be right there, that he "feels the hands of angels are leading him back to where he is supposed to be; so I can heal my mind, restore my spirit and mend my broken heart."

It was awe inspiring to see him with the Crickets again and share the stage with the families sharing memories about everyone. He told one of the news guys during an interview that Ritchie was the sweetest, most sincere and unassuming kid he ever met and has never seen in the music industry since.

Just to get 3 days of in your face music history like that is the most unreal thing a DJ could EVER experience. It ranks in my top 5 moments in my radio career.

Here's a cool link for you to peruse

Buddy Holly Link

That is awesome...

[Viking]

Quite the article about Waylon and Buddy. Me and a friend of mine have been talking for years about going up there to Clear Lake to the crash site, taking a acoustic guitar, and just singing a couple of Buddy Holly tunes. We still might accomplish that. It's only about a 6 hour drive or so.

Facing a haunting memory

For years the memory of joking about the plane crashing before Buddy Holly left the Surf that night had been too much for the Waylon Jennings.

Waylon Jennings returned to Clear Lake on Oct. 7, 1995, the same way he left 36 1/2 years before - by bus.

For 36 years, the last painful conversation he had with Buddy Holly has haunted Waylon Jennings. In 1995, Jennings returned to the Surf Ballroom.

More than 2,000 fans packed the Surf Ballroom to see a performer initially made famous by not being on the most famous airplane in rock 'n' roll history.

Jennings was in the backup band for Buddy Holly at the rock 'n' roll star's last performance at the Surf Ballroom in February of 1959.

Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight to another rock 'n' roll star, J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson.

For 36 years, the last painful conversation he had with Buddy Holly has haunted Jennings.

Jennings said he gave up his seat to the Big Bopper because the singer was plagued by the flu. Fellow Cricket Tommy Allsup lost his seat to Ritchie Valens on a coin toss.

Jennings remembers Holly laughing at him before leaving the Surf, joking that he hoped the bus broke down.

And then Jennings joked back, telling Holly he hoped the plane crashed.

Jennings said he has carried the guilt ever since, even to the point of sometimes thinking it was he who caused the crash.

Since that night, Jennings has become a legendary country performer in his own right.

But his reluctance to return to the Surf for even the annual Buddy Holly Tributes had whetted the appetites of Surf patrons for more than three decades.

"The last time I was here I stood right over there," he said to the crowd on the night of his return, pointing to the left side of the stage. "How many of you know how long ago that was? Thirty-six years ago.... It's good to be back here."

Jennings asked for the audience lights to be turned on, and the people cheered.

"I recognize this place and I recognize backstage. The last time I saw Buddy, he was leaning against the wall, thinking. Buddy did a lot of that.

"This is kind of a special night for me," Jennings said. "I lost some great friends that night. You should have known Buddy, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. They were great. That's all I'm going to say about that," he said, as he broke into "Me and Bobby McGee."

Wife Jessi Colter later joined him on stage for a duet on "Suspicious Minds."

That concert was more than a performance by one of the country music industry's biggest stars.

It was about a man coming back to face one of the most tragic events of his life.

"I'm not sure what I would have done if the booking agent had come to me ahead of time and said he was booking me at the Surf. I probably would have still come, but I'm not sure what I would have said.

That night is something I've dodged all my life and I have a mixed bunch of feelings about coming back. I feel guilty," Jennings said in an interview before his performance.

"There's never a week that goes by that I don't think of Buddy Holly, but it's usually something good that I remember. It was a

turning point in my life and while I remember being at the Surf, I don't remember anything about the tour prior to it.

"More than anything, Buddy taught me about attitude and to never compromise on my music," Jennings said.

[billy007]

from www.billboard.com:

Universal Music International is prepping what it calls the definitive audio/video collection of a lost rock'n'roll icon. Due April 25 in the United Kingdom, "The Music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets" will boast a DVD collecting archive footage and new interviews and a bonus 20-track audio disc.

In North America, the DVD/CD package will be released via Universal's Geffen label and will be titled "The Definitive Collection." At deadline a specific release date for the region has not been confirmed.

The release marks the 50th anniversary of Holly's first appearance opening a set of Texas shows for Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & the Comets.

The DVD will include clips of Holly and his band performing such well-known hits as "That'll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue," "It's So Easy," "Rave On" and "Maybe Baby." Also featured will be 1957-58 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Among the interviews are conversations with Crickets drummer Jerry (J.I.) Allison, backing vocalists John Pickering and Ray Rush, early Crickets bassist Joe Mauldin, and guitarists Sonny Curtis and Tommy Allsup. It was Allsup who gave Ritchie Valens his seat on the plane that crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 2, 1959, killing him, Valens and the Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson).

Rare audio interviews with late producers Dick Jacobs and Norman Petty, the latter also being Holly's manager, are also included on the DVD.

While the CD includes most well-known Holly songs, its track listing was chosen by those who played, sang and wrote on or inspired the original recordings.

Last year, Geffen issued a remastered version of Holly's first two albums, 1957's "The 'Chirping' Crickets" and 1958's "Buddy Holly," in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of rock'n'roll that was spearheaded by a celebration in Memphis. Both discs were augmented by additional tracks.

Here is the "The Music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets" bonus CD track list:

"That'll Be the Day"
"Not Fade Away"
"Everyday"
"Peggy Sue"
"Listen to Me"
"Oh Boy"
"Send Me Some Lovin'"
"It's Too Late"
"Maybe Baby"
"Rock Me My Baby"
"Rave On"
"Well...All Right"
"Think It Over"
"Lonesome Tears"
"It's So Easy"
"Early in the Morning"
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore"
"Raining in My Heart"
"Peggy Sue Got Married"
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping"

-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

[HippieLettuce]

love it...

[HippieLettuce]

Rest in peace, Buddy...

[JCJanko]

True rock and roll doesn't happen without Buddy Holly. I can merge in an offiicial Richie Valens thread as well, but Buddy Holly was amazing by himself.

Let's get some thoughts!

[broken9500]

Buddy was one of the first true pioneers of Rock and Roll period. He was one pretty much the first artist to really demand respect and freedom from the record labels, tour promoters and management/marketing people. He wrote his music, produced his material...a real way-paver for artists that followed. His influence stretched far beyond what a lot of people understand or appreciate because they take so much for granted.

And on a side note, Gary Busey's portrayal of Buddy Holly was INCREDIBLE.