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Submitted: 10/8/23 • Approved: 3/9/24 • Last Updated: 3/12/24 • R585435-G0-S3
September 7, 1936 - February 3, 1959
"In Loving Memory of our own"
Brief biography (composed by person who submitted photo):
Born Charles Hardin Holley, his name was officially changed early in his musical career to Buddy Holly (without the "e").
Buddy Holly’s unique musical abilities strongly influenced many artists. It could be said that his talent changed the very fabric of Rock and Roll. He appeared twice on the Ed Sullivan Show, and on three occasions he opened shows for Elvis Presley. He toured the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Australia.
Buddy Holly had several songs that became hits, but none reached #1 in the United States. He had two #1 songs in the United Kingdom: “That’ll Be The Day” in 1957 and “Raining In My Heart” (posthumously) in 1959.
On February 2, 1959, a troop of Rock and Roll artists, including Buddy Holly, performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. After the show, some of the performers left on their tour bus, but three boarded a privately-rented plane to head for their next stop in Fargo, North Dakota. The plane took off from the Mason City, Iowa airport and was in the air less than five minutes before it crashed into a field. Killed in the crash were Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.
The fatal crash stunned music-lovers globally. It became known as “the day the music died,” a phrase used by Don McLean in his timeless classic “American Pie,” released in 1971. Each of the three artists had already established themselves as top-notch performers. The young ages of the group intensified the loss felt by fans. Buddy Holly was 22 years of age, The Big Bopper was 28, and Ritchie Valens was only 17 when they met their tragic end.
Buddy, both of his parents and a brother are buried alongside each other at City of Lubbock Cemetery, on the eastern edge of Lubbock, Texas.
Contributed on 10/8/23 by radiovector178
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Record #: 585435