50 years after the day the music died. Buddy Holly Lives!
February 3rd, 2009 by intr0vert
When Buddy Holly died 50 years ago today, he was only 22. But I feel as if music still hasn’t caught up. In that short amount of time he spent on earth he forged a legacy that has kept him as relevant as he was in 1959. Buddy was the real thing. He wrote his own songs, his ideas were as far “out there” as any could be (pre-LSD). Because you’ve heard his songs a million times then maybe you don’t notice it, but his croon, warble and hiccup vocal delivery is other worldly. His rhythm guitar playing is so simple, subtle and sophisticated that you probably don’t notice how FAST he is really playing! On top of all of that his peculiar studio methods and instrumentation would precursor the innovations of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. (The Beatles also took their name in part from The Crickets and the ‘Stones had an early hit with “Not Fade Away”) His influence is immeasurable to the degree that you would be hard-pressed to find a legend who WASN’T influenced by the bespectacled son of Lubbock, Texas. For that reason, Buddy Holly Lives!
