Buddy Holly was born September 7, 1936 in Lubbock, TX. He was born with the name Charles Hardin Holley but was given the nickname “Buddy” by his mother because she thought that his birth name was too big for such a small boy. Later in his life, he became known as Buddy Holly instead of Buddy Holley due to a spelling error in his first recording contract. Buddy Holly grew up in a very supportive family. His parents helped teach him how to play the piano and fiddle. On the other hand, his older brothers set out to teach him the basics of guitar at the same time. It was quite obvious that Buddy Holly had great skills at the age of 13 after watching the home recording of “My Two-Timin’ Woman” where Buddy Holly showed off his talented singing. …show more content…
He had his mind set on being a musician and on staying far away as he could from joining his brother’s tiling business. To start his process, Buddy Holly formed a band and played regularly on a Lubbock radio station. He even got to open up for acts going through town. He once opened for Elvis Presley at the Lubbock Youth Center and according to his bandmate, Sonny Curtis, Buddy Holly fell in love with Elvis Presley and after that day, Buddy became an Elvis Presley clone. Buddy Holly converted from country music to rock n’ roll and soon after, a record company signed Holly to a contract after seeing his act at a skating rink. This led to the formation of Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes, but soon after the name was changed to the Crickets. With the Crickets, Holly finally recorded his breakthrough hit based off of a line by John Wayne,”That’ll Be the Day.” It will be Buddy Holly’s first song to top the charts, and ultimately, 500 days before his tragic …show more content…
Don McLean released “American Pie” twelve years later and referred to Buddy Holly’s death as “the day the music died.” Holly’s unissued recordings were released after his death all throughout the 1960s making it as if he never actually died. He even started a trend that is still commonly seen today with his horn-rimmed glasses. He even lives on through The Beatles who chose their name based off of The Crickets. Even The Rolling Stones covered Holly’s “Not Fade Away” which became their first top 10 single. Buddy Holly influenced American music tremendously in his short two year rock n’ roll