Born in September of 1936, Charles Hardin Holley who later came to be known as Buddy Holly was one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He was mainly a guitarist, composer and singer, but his career would only last for about five years due to a plane crash he was involved in when he was only 22 years of age. He was newly married and had an excellent start to a potentially great music career when he passed away. Referred to as the biggest influence in the start of rock and roll, Buddy Holly would be greatly missed by those who recognized the talent he had, though he would live on through future bands, such as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, that were largely influenced by him.
Buddy Holly was born into a musical family, which would probably explain his musical talent. He was exposed to music at an early age and learned to play a number of instruments, including the guitar, the piano and the violin. Later, in junior high school, he met up with Bob who also had an interest in music. They started playing together and it wasn't long before people recognized them as a team. Often referred to as "Buddy and Holly", they played bluegrass music, sang together at talent shows and later sang at various clubs. Buddy Holly's interest turned from bluegrass music to rock and roll when he saw and heard Elvis Presley. It was not long after Buddy turned to rock and roll that he signed a contract with Decca Records. One might wonder how Buddy Holly's last name changed its spelling; the spelling was changed when he accidentally signed the contract without including the "e" in his name. From then on, his last name was "Holly" instead of the original "Holley".
Buddy Holly formed his band, known as "The Crickets" in 1956 and they immediately began making records. Two years later, after they had released two albums, The Crickets toured the United Kingdom, which was a big success. It was during this tour that he met his future wife. It seemed that music was not the only thing that Buddy Holly was fast paced at; he proposed to Maria Santiago on their first date and they were married shortly after. It was about six months after he was married that tragedy struck and the world would lose one of the most influential people in Rock and Roll. He may not have released many albums and his career may have been brief, but in the time he was alive he was able to accomplish a lot. Not only did he close the racial gap in Rock and Roll, he became an inspiration for many future bands that would help to take Rock and Roll to the next level. He didn't have to have a 20 year career to make a difference; he did it in less than five years. His five years, especially the last year and a half were spent very well and one would have to wonder just how far his career would have gone, and how successful he would have been, had he not been on that plane when it went down. |
