Thursday, September 07, 2006
NOT FADE AWAY
Buddy Holly would have been 70 today. He didn't make it to age 23, but oh man he made some great music in that short time. (Nice Wikipedia bio here.)
My wife and I are huge fans. Five years ago we were driving across country and made a point to stop at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. We spent more time there than at the Grand Canyon.
Not taking anything away from Elvis, but Buddy Holly was the real prototype rocker. He wrote his own songs, played lead guitar, and sang up front. The next generation (e.g. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Keith Richards) idolized him. The Crickets had a crack rhythm section too. (Jerry Allison positively invented the "cool drummer" thing. You have to see him on the old Ed Sullivan Show clips.)
This is the utimate collection. Here's an excellent tribute CD (apparently out of print). I liked this biography very much too.
