Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a

Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

He made his first appearance on local television 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, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley and His Comets, he 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, who had become famous for producing orchestrated country hits for stars like Patsy Cline. Unhappy with Bradley's musical style and control in the studio, Holly went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day", among other songs. Petty became the band's manager and 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 and UK singles charts. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, "Peggy Sue".

The album The "Chirping" Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern US. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died" in his song "American Pie".

During his short career, Holly wrote and recorded many songs. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Hollies (who named themselves in his honor), Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Marshall Crenshaw, and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of "100 Greatest Artists" in 2010.

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER (1936–1955)
Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley (spelled "-ey") on September 7, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas, the fourth child of Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley (1901 to 1985) and Ella Pauline Drake (1902 to 1990). His elder siblings were Larry (1925 to 2022), Travis (1927 to 2016), and Patricia Lou (1929 to 2008). Holly was of mostly English and Welsh descent, and had small amounts of Native American ancestry as well. From early childhood, he was nicknamed "Buddy". During the Great Depression, the Holleys frequently moved residence within Lubbock; L.O. changed jobs several times. Buddy Holly was baptized a Baptist, and the family were members of the Tabernacle Baptist Church.

The Holleys had an interest in music; all the family members except...

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly

TAGS: Buddy Holly, Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States, Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1959, The Crickets members, Singer-songwriters from Texas, Rock and roll musicians, People from Lubbock Texas, Lubbock High School alumni, Lead guitarists, Guitarists from Texas, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Decca Records artists, Coral Records artists, Burials in Texas, Brunswick Records artists, Baptists from Texas, American rockabilly musicians, American rockabilly guitarists, American rock singers, American rock guitarists, American people of Welsh descent, American people of Native American descent, American people of English descent, American male singer-songwriters, American male guitarists, American country singer-songwriters, American country rock singers, 20th-century American singers, 20th-century American male singers

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