Buddy Holly's Popular Music Videos
About Buddy Holly
Hometown
Lubbock, TX, United States
Born
September 7, 1936
Genre
Rock
Though Buddy was his childhood nickname, his last name changed from Holley to Holly when it was misspelled on his first Decca Records contract.
∙ Of all of Holly’s iconic songs, only his initial breakout hit, “That’ll Be the Day,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
∙ “Peggy Sue” was originally going to be called “Cindy Lou” after Holly’s niece, but Crickets drummer Jerry Allison persuaded Holly to name it for his girlfriend, Peggy Sue Gerron.
∙ Buddy helped kickstart Waylon Jennings’ career when he hired him to play backup on the 1959 Winter Dance Party tour.
∙ British Invasion band The Hollies took their name as a tribute to the late singer.
∙ In 1976, Paul McCartney bought the publishing rights to Holly’s song catalog.
∙ Gary Busey was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Holly in 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story.
∙ John Fogerty inducted Holly into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
∙ In 1996, Holly’s hometown opened the Buddy Holly Center, which features the world’s largest collection of his personal effects, including his first Fender Stratocaster guitar.
∙ In his hit song “American Pie,” Don McLean sings about “the day the music died,” referring to the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.
Buddy Holly has also released music as a member of Buddy Holly & The Crickets and The Crickets.
Musical InfluencesBuddy Holly's musical influences include Johnnie & Jack, Merle Travis, Hank Williams and more.
Influenced by Buddy HollyBuddy Holly has influenced the music of Weezer, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and more.
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