The Day The Music Died Feb 3, 1959

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I posted about this a week or two ago, but today is the actual anniversary of the day the plane crashed in Iows after leaving a concert for the Winter Dance Party tour. Along with Buddy was Ritchie Valens, the Big Booper and the pilot Roger Peterson. Buddy was only married six months and his wife was expecting their first child. Not long after the crash his wife suffered a miscarriage.

Buddy was born in Lubbock Texas in 1936. Buddy formed a band with three high school friends that they called the Crickets. They went to Clovis New Mexico to record their first songs. Coral Records signed the group and than later signed Buddy to a solo contract also, having him appear on the label in two different versions.

At that time rock and roll singers went in the studio and pretty much recorded what their producers wanted them to. They did little of their own writing and arranging. Buddy changed all that. He wrote his own music and helped produce it in the studio. He was one of the first in rock and roll to do this.

Buddy recorded so much material that for years after his death his record company was able to continue to issue new material. The quality of this material wasn't always the best and the record company was known to add things that Buddy didn't have in the original.

Years back I found a five album collection calling itself the Complete Buddy Holly. I'm not sure if it is the definite collection but it contains a rich source of songs by the singer. Recently they issued a new collection of little heard stuff, including what is known as The Apartment Songs. These are songs Buddy was taping himself working on at his apartment in the months before his death.

Buddy only performed for a few years before his death but his impact on music cannot be overstated. His influence has been felt throughout the music industry and still reverberates today.


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