Buddy Holly

[MeanDean]

Im a hugggeeee BH fan and I am amazed sometimes w/ his music. 1st off, he only recorded for a few years and has a crazy amount of songs, like over 100. Some of his stuff youd swear was recorded in the mid 70's it was so far ahead of his time. Ive gone to see the broadway play about his life and it was amazing and even the one that plays at the DSM playhouse was pretty decent.

Another interesting fact is that Waylon Jennings played w/ Holly. A lot of Waylons early songs were buddy holly songs that werent recorded or werent singles ect.

My favorite quote about holly is from John Lennon "w/out Buddy Holly there would be no rock and roll, there would be no Beatles" or something like that.

Besides Waylon I'm a big fan of another one of the Crickets, Sonny Curtis.

He wrote, "I Fought the Law" (Bobby Fuller Four/Clash, etc). Also wrote and recorded the theme from the Mary Tyler Moore show (Love is all Around). He also wrote the song "Rock Around With Ollie Vee" which was one of Buddy's earlier recordings. I saw him perform at Clear Lake in 2009 at the tribute and he amazed me more than Graham Nash, Peter and Gordon, Wanda Jackson or anyone else there. Just a very heartfelt and honest performer...

 

[cydswipe]

I am also a huge Buddy Holly fan. If you get the chance, check out Gary Busey in "The Buddy Holly Story" circa 1980. Probably one of my favorite movies. It takes a lot of Hollywood liberties with the story, but it is a great film. The end makes me sad to this day.
At one point in time there was quite the conspiracy theory around the crash. In one of the photos of the crash site there was a pistol seen. If I remember right it either wasn't properly loaded or they thought may have been fired, possibly causing the crash of the plane.

 

[sunnysideup]

I really thought there was a street named after Holly in Mason City as well, but I can't find it on the map.

It took me a long time to realize that Don McLean's song "American Pie" was about the death of Holly and Co.


The crash occurred on Feb. 3, 1959.







YouTube - ‪Don McLean- American Pie (with Lyrics)‬‏

You are correct that American Pie definitely draws a lot from the crash in Clear Lake but there are also many references to other things as well.

There are references to 60's counterculture, Janis Joplin, the Byrds, the Bible, 50's rock and roll, and so much more.

Here is a good website that breaks it down.

Understanding American Pie - Interpretation of Don Mclean's epic song to the passing of an era.

 

[brother bob]

Somewhere in my vast array of photos, I have Coach Paul Rhoads and Jamie Pollard in the Signature Room at The Surf Ballroom! I will need to look at some discs to see if I can find it and upload it.

Here's an interesting side note...My oldest brother was working at the Clear Lake Airport around 1978 or so and was asked to clean out an old filing cabinet that was stuck in the corner of the main office. He did what he was told and upon opening the last drawer found only a plain unmarked legal sized envelope. In this envelope he found Buddy Holly's glasses and a few odds and ends from the crash. Now, he could have just pocketed these glasses and said nothing, but he turned them into his manager and they are now on display at the Buddy Holly Museum in Lubbock. My brother got a nice letter from Buddy Holly's widow telling him how greatful she was for him finding them and returning them to her. I didn't really know any song by Buddy Holly at the time but did get to see these glasses in person when my brother took me to the airport one day...now that I think about it it was really kind of cool to know that I once held Buddy Holly's glasses in my own hands.

Thought that that was well worth the few minutes you all will take to read this.

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

You are correct that American Pie definitely draws a lot from the crash in Clear Lake but there are also many references to other things as well.

There are references to 60's counterculture, Janis Joplin, the Byrds, the Bible, 50's rock and roll, and so much more.

Here is a good website that breaks it down.

Understanding American Pie - Interpretation of Don Mclean's epic song to the passing of an era.

The Fremont Street laser show in Las Vegas also does a nice visual interpetation of the song.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Aa7m7eFW1s&feature=player_detailpage"]YouTube - ‪Don McLean's American Pie, Fremont St, Las Vegas 08-07-08‬‏[/ame]