Buddy Holly

By Robyn and Lauren.

Buddy Holly was born on September 7 1936 to a

musical family during the Great Depression in
America. He was an American musician and
singer-songwriter who was a central figure of
mid-1950s rock and roll.

Early Life:

Born Charles Hardin Holley, he

was from Lubbock, Texas.
He learned to play guitar and to
sing alongside his siblings.
His style was influenced by gospel
music, country music, and rhythm
and blues acts, and he performed
in Lubbock with his friends from
high school.

Career:

His first appearance on local televisions was in 1952, and the following year he formed
the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery.
In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music.
He opened for Presley three times in 1955, and his band's style shifted from
country/western to entirely rock and roll.
In October 1955, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, Holly was spotted by
Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.

Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley. Unhappy there,
Holly went to producer Norman Petty in New Mexico, and recorded a demo of "That'll Be
the Day", among other songs.

Petty became the band's manager, he sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which
released it as a single credited to "The Crickets", which became the name of Holly's band.
In September 1957, as the band toured, "That'll Be the Day" topped the US "Best Sellers
in Stores" chart and the UK Singles Chart. Its success was followed in October by another
major hit, "Peggy Sue".

Music:
Toured Australia and the UK.
In early 1959, Holly assembled a new band, consisting of future country
music star Waylon Jennings (bass), musician Tommy Allsup (guitar),
and Carl Bunch (drums), and went to tour the midwestern U.S.
Some of his songs include;
- Thatll be the day
(1957)
- Peggy Sue
(1958)
- Not fade away
(1957)
- It doesnt matter anymore (1958)
- Rave on
(1958)

Death:
After a show in Clear Lake,
Iowa, Holly chartered an
airplane to travel to his
next show, in Moorhead,
Minnesota. Soon after
takeoff, the plane crashed,
killing Holly, Ritchie
Valens, the JP Richardson
and the pilot.
Don McLean wrote a song
about his death, known as
"The Day the Music Died".

Facts
He opened for Elvis Presley
Rock n Roll wouldn't exist without him
He only had one number one hit
His glasses made him a trendsetter
Had a cat named Booker T. & a dog named Alonzo
Surname was originally spelled "Holley" but misspelled "Holly" on his
first recording contract & the error was never corrected.
Wife was pregnant at the time of his death, later she suffered a
miscarriage.
He won a local talent contest at age five.

The Buddy Holly Story

The Buddy Holly Story is
a 1978 biographical film.
It tells the life story of the
rock musician Buddy
Holly.
The film won the
Academy Award for Best
Adaptation Score by Joe
Renzetti.