Buddy Holly and the Crickets
I had meant to spend the week focusing on the music of the 1950's, but the week is now half gone. Still, I'm going to hit a few anyway...starting with my favorite of the 50's, Buddy Holly. I really think Buddy and Chuck Berry were the proto-type rockers. They played an instrument, sang and wrote their own songs. Pretty revolutionary. Elvis may have been bigger, but he was not a writer. You listen to The Beatles, and I think you hear more Chuck and Buddy (and Little Richard) than you do Elvis.
About 20 years ago, I visited Buddy's grave in Lubbock, TX. It has a small marker...too small for someone who had such a lasting impact. You can see some pictures of it here. It has changed a little since I was there. I believe both of Buddy's parents died since then, so there are more markers.
This is Buddy and the Crickets doing "Peggy Sue" on the Ed Sullivan Show.
I had meant to spend the week focusing on the music of the 1950's, but the week is now half gone. Still, I'm going to hit a few anyway...starting with my favorite of the 50's, Buddy Holly. I really think Buddy and Chuck Berry were the proto-type rockers. They played an instrument, sang and wrote their own songs. Pretty revolutionary. Elvis may have been bigger, but he was not a writer. You listen to The Beatles, and I think you hear more Chuck and Buddy (and Little Richard) than you do Elvis.
About 20 years ago, I visited Buddy's grave in Lubbock, TX. It has a small marker...too small for someone who had such a lasting impact. You can see some pictures of it here. It has changed a little since I was there. I believe both of Buddy's parents died since then, so there are more markers.
This is Buddy and the Crickets doing "Peggy Sue" on the Ed Sullivan Show.
posted by Side3 at 3:42 PM
2 Comments:
Don't forget the mighty drums of Jerry I. Allison!!! He was the template for rock and roll drummers as we know them. Check out a cut off of the CHRIPING CRICKETS album called "Rock-a-bye My Baby" and you will hear a ton of riffs that were copped by Ringo.
Of all of the founding father of Rock & Roll, Buddy was the most modern sounding. The middle eight of "Peggy Sue" is astounding.. who else was going from A to F in 1957? Buddy was one if not the first rocker to go beyond the standard 12 bar and I-VI-IV-V formats.
Give "Well Alright" a listen.. again the E-A changes in the verses we're almost unheard of in white music. And has anyone been ever been able to duplicate the interplay between JI and Buddy on "Not Fade Away" ?
I would have to imagine that Bo Diddley was a big influence on some of Buddy adventurous song structures. Country & Western also played huge part of Buddy's music as well and the Elvis influence was strong too. But when you look at the 1 1/2 years he made records you see a huge leap as an artist maybe the single biggest progression apart form the 1964-1967 Beatles.
And to top it off, no ne outside of Jimi has looked as cool with a Fender Stratocaster!
I agree...imagine if he had lived what Buddy might have been doing circa 1967/68. My guess is that he would still have been on top.
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