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Buddy Holly music biography continued...

a musical family and learned to play the piano, guitar and violin as a young boy. Holly's first group was the bluegrass duo Buddy and Bob. After a failed stint recording country music for Decca and inspired by seeing Elvis Presley perform, Holly turned to rock music. In 1957 he and his backup band, the Crickets, cut a demo which contained a rock version of "That'll Be the Day That I Die," and led to a contract with the New York-based Coral/Brunswick label. The tune rose to number one by September 1957, and prompted the Crickets' first national tour and a string of hit singles including "Peggy Sue" (Number 3, 1957) and "Oh Boy! (Number 10, 1958). By the end of 1958, Holly had reached the Top 40 with "Maybe Baby" (Number 17), "Think It Over" (Number 27), "Early in the Morning" (Number 32), and "Rave On" (Number 37). But more than just recording popular songs, Holly was a rock pioneer who was one of the first to write all his own material, use the recording studio for doubletracking and other advanced techniques, and popularize the two guitars, bass, and drums lineup. After a split with his longtime manager, Holly for financial reasons signed up for a Winter Dance Party Tour in early 1959. Tired of riding the bus, Holly, along with a couple of the tour's other featured performers, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, chartered a private plane after their Clear Lake, Iowa, show to take them to Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane crashed soon after takeoff, killing all on board.



Holly's death was marked by the release of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (Number 13, 1959), which topped the U.K. chart for six consecutive weeks. In his wake, Holly left behind enough old demos and uncompleted recordings to fill several posthumous collections. In 1986 Holly was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; seven years later he was honored with his own postage stamp. In his all too brief career, Holly recorded a catalogue of songs that continue to be covered, leaving rock and roll aficionados to wonder what might have been had he only lived longer.