“No matter what you think of rock n’ roll, I think you have to keep an open mind about what the young people go for. Otherwise, the youngsters won’t feel that you understand them. Now, if we’re ready for our rock n’ roll specialists, we have Buddy Holly and The Crickets!” Those were the words of Kathryn Murray, hostess of the Arthur Murray Dance Party in 1957. Indeed, she had a real inkling of the revolution that was quickly taking America by storm in the 1950s. Gone were the days of smooth jazz and crooners. There was a new movement brewing in America, called rock n’ roll. And at the helm of the ship were pioneering rock stars that would change the face of music forever. One in particular: a bespectacled rocker from Lubbock, Texas, with a short career and expansive legacy.
The part of rock music with an unquestionable amount of innovation is its birth in the 1950s. Coming from the previous generations of big bands, crooners, and smooth music, the birth of rock n’ roll turned the world upside down. It took the sounds of black America and put them at the forefront, and it took the values of white America and flipped them on their head. The birth of rock n’ roll saw a shift in the way the country looked. For the first time, youth culture was becoming an independent thing and adult culture was forced to take notice.
The post-war 1950s saw the birth of a new group: the teenagers. Before the 1950s, there was no downtime between childhood and adulthood, and no term for the age in between. America faced The Great Depression during the 1930s, and there was no leisure time for young adults. They worked to support their families, and keep them afloat in a time when America itself was sinking. In the 1940s, America fought a war, and young adults were drafted fresh out of school to serve their country. When soldiers came home, they had grown up, mentally and physically. They were full-fledged adults and had to live as such. However, after the war came the baby boom, and the children who came of age in the decade after were not faced with the looming threats that the past generations had. Time Magazine showed a comparison of the income of a teenage boy between 1946 and 1956, and the average weekly income of the teenager increased by $6.55, or the equivalent of $63 in today’s money. With money to burn and leisure time previously unknown to adolescents, youth culture rose up.
Teenagers in the 1950s needed a clarion call that went against the wishes of the clean-cut, white suburban parents who tried to control them. If the parents liked Pat Boone, Paul Anka and Perry Como, then it was the exact opposite that the teenagers wanted. Rather than sweet harmonies and sanitized lyrics, the teenagers flocked to “race records”, the rhythm and blues music that played on independent radio stations. However, in an attempt to break away from the racial stigma that followed R&B music, the movement needed a rebranding. Often credited with coining the term, it was the radio and TV host Alan Freed that gave a new name to the familiar sound: rock n’ roll. The rock n’ roll sound would come to symbolize the youth movement and rebellion. Lillian Roxon, a music critic, had written that the rock n’ roll sound that was brought to them through movies such as Blackboard Jungle had suggested that “they might be a force to be reckoned with, in numbers alone. If there could be one song, there could be others; there could be a whole world of songs, and then, a whole world” (Altschuler 32). With a loud sound to match their subtly rebellious attitudes, youth culture and rock music were already becoming a force to be reckoned with.
And to match the rebellious nature of the youth, the music needed to set itself apart with a new instrument. And in the 1950s, the loudest and most rebellious instrument came to the forefront: the electric guitar. In the late 1940s, Leo Fender’s Esquire guitar set the precedent of what would become a staple in rock music. A solid-bodied, non-hollow guitar that allowed amplification without feedback. Although electric guitars had been used as early as the 1930s in blues music, never before had the solid-body guitar been used. And with a new music genre to work with and a new kind of sound, the two were married in holy rock n’ roll matrimony. Other notable electric guitars were the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster, the latter of which would be used in many famous rock performances.
The rock n’ roll birth and rise in the 1950s had many social implications. Most importantly, it was closely related to the civil rights movement. As stated before, rock music began as rhythm and blues “race records”, played on independent radio stations aimed toward African-Americans. However, they attracted teenagers of all races, and began to break down barriers. “In pursuit of R&B, however, white teenagers proved to be resolute and resourceful. At the Dolphin Record Store, located in an African-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, about 40 percent of the customers for the rhythm and blues in 1952 were white” (Altschuler 18).
Both black and white audiences felt attracted to the sounds of rock n’ roll. For black audiences, rock was just an extension of the rhythm and blues and black church sounds. It was their culture that was being put in the mainstream. For white audiences, it was a rebellion against the prim and proper white American values, and it was a release of inhibition. However, “for African Americans, rock ‘n’ roll was a mixed blessing. At times a force for integration and racial respect, rock ‘n’ roll was also an act of theft” (Altschuler 34). Though the sounds were becoming popular, there was still a fine line between what was inspiration and what was appropriation. There are arguments on both sides, with some artists “sanitizing” the lyrics of black artists to appeal to white audiences and appropriating the sound. But then there are artists such as Buddy Holly, who acknowledged the origins of the music he was inspired by, such as Bo Diddley, and worked to expand the horizons of rock culture alongside Ritchie Valens, who brought Chicano sounds into mainstream rock n’ roll.
If there is a standout artist who has come to symbolize the rise of rock n’ roll, as well as its lasting legacy, it would be Buddy Holly. Though his career was cut short prematurely, the music that he created, the image that he held, and the legacy that he left after his death span farther than nearly anyone of the time period, whether we notice it or not. Without Buddy Holly, rock music would not have seen its boom in the 1960s, it would not have found its footing with the youth, and the music would never have become as diverse.
Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936 in Lubbock, Texas. Growing up in a family that showed interest in music, Charles, nicknamed “Buddy” as a child, learned to play piano, guitar and violin. He was greatly influenced and interested in country and western music, and first showed his prowess in that genre. In an essay written by Holley in high school, he said: “I have thought about making a career out of western music if I am good enough, but I will just have to wait and see how that turns out.”
In high school, Holley teamed up with friend Bob Montgomery, a fellow country fan who also wanted to pursue music. They formed a duo called Buddy and Bob and made a name for themselves on the local Lubbock scene, playing small gigs and talent shows. Buddy and Bob opened up for pioneering rock band Bill Haley and his Comets, and after the show, Holley was offered a record deal with Decca Records, a major recording company. However, the Decca record deal did not work out. They had tried to keep him on the track of country and western music; but Holly was determined to play rock n’ roll. Soon after his trip to Decca in Nashville, he returned to Lubbock. Decca’s contract with Holley had misspelled his last name, but he decided to keep the misspelling as a stage name: Holly.
Back in Texas, Buddy formed a new band, this time called The Crickets. Together, they would go on to chart-topping success with rock songs such as “Peggy Sue”, “That’ll Be the Day” and “Everyday”.
Buddy Holly’s contribution to the art of rock n’ roll music spans beyond the music itself. Holly was greatly influenced by the likes of country and rock artists, such as Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. His musical style was a blend of both, with his Texan accent still prominent in his songs, but his guitar style and beat reflecting less of a country-western style and more of a rock sound. Some sounds that Holly used in his music were unknown to rock n’ roll at the time and were introduced through his music. For example, Holly was one of the first to use a Fender Stratocaster, playing it in his famous Ed Sullivan and American Bandstand appearances. He also was one of, if not the first, to introduce a hiccup-style vocal into rock music. Examples include songs like “Rave On”, with the lyrics “We-UH-ell, the little things you say and do, make me want to be with you-UH-ou...”
Holly’s image was also greatly influential to the genre. Buddy Holly was unlike other rock stars of the era. In a time when parents favored clean-cut boys like Pat Boone, but rockers favored rugged bad boys like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly stood apart from both ends. Standing at 6 feet tall, lean and gangly, with suits that seemed to be just a bit loose all the time, and donning a pair of thick black-framed glasses, Holly was almost the antithesis of the rock n’ roll image.
“He proved that you didn’t have to be Elvis to be a pop star, you could be the nerdy guy with glasses,” said Peter Asher, the producer of a Buddy Holly cover disc.
Holly’s image and sound was a complete blend of cultures and influences. In his music, he took inspiration from African American artists such as Bo Diddley, as well as Chicano artists such as Ritchie Valens. Sometimes, Holly was even mistaken for a black performer by those who had never seen him before. The most infamous incident of this was when Holly was accidentally booked at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York for an all-black audience. Though the audience was skeptical at first, the music won them over. Leslie Uggams, who was in the audience that night, said she was expecting “another brother out there doing his number. Then this white guy comes out… but he was terrific” (Altschuler 173). But still, his look as a nerdy white boy attracted white audiences, especially those who could identify themselves in his image.
The name Buddy Holly often gets lost in the crowd of breakout rock n’ roll stars and groups throughout history, but in reality, there would be no rock n’ roll (in the way that we know it) without him. His sound and image, and even the unfortunate way he died are all ingrained in the fabric of rock n’ roll, and have provided great influence to some of the greatest bands in the genre. Let’s take it through the ages….
John, Paul, George and Ringo first started out as a band called The Quarrymen. They dressed like Buddy Holly, covered songs by Holly, and eventually changed their name to something inspired by The Crickets. They became The Beatles. The Beatles are arguably the most influential rock band in history, but they would not have been the band we know had it not been for the early influence of the Lubbock, Texas rocker. The Rolling Stones, another band that arguably matches The Beatles in fame and influence, also began with Buddy Holly roots. Their first single, which reached 48 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and number 3 in the U.K., was a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away”. Other UK artists took inspiration from Holly, such as The Hollies (whose band name paid homage to him), Eric Clapton and Elton John.
“Eric Clapton claimed that duplicating a Buddy Holly echo effect while playing in the stairwell at home changed his life… And Elton John started wearing glasses, his biographer claims, to copy Buddy Holly- not because he needed them” (Altschuler 175).
The 1970s and 80s saw the rise of a subgenre of rock, called New Wave. At the forefront of that movement was Boston’s band The Cars, fronted by singer and songwriter Ric Ocasek. Ocasek has said that Buddy Holly was a great influence on him, with “That’ll Be The Day” being one of the first songs he could remember inspiring him to play music. That admiration and inspiration is present in his vocal styles, both in The Cars’ music and his solo work. Ocasek embraces the hiccuping vocals of Holly, especially in songs like “You Might Think” (with lyrics like “oh well-UH- you might think I’m crazy”), and solo song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”. Other new wave artists such as Elvis Costello wholeheartedly embraced the Buddy Holly image, with thick glasses and suits.
Perhaps the most well-known reference to Buddy Holly’s life came from American singer/songwriter Don McLean. When the news came on February 3, 1959 that Buddy Holly had died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, McLean, 13, was distraught. It was one of the first major losses in the realm of rock n’ roll, and it marked a loss of innocence in the teenage movement. McLean put pen to paper, and in 1971 released the folk epic “American Pie”. For the first time, the fateful crash had a name: The Day The Music Died. For most, this is the way Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper are remembered and immortalized.
The birth of rock music in the 1950s marked the beginning of a movement that has lasted through the decades and has become woven into the culture of America itself. And whether he gets the credit he deserves or not, Charles Hardin Holley, or Buddy Holly, has left a lasting impression on the realm of rock music, both in sound and likeness. Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 500 list of rock songs features 5 of Holly’s songs, and his image has inspired many musicians after him, as recent as Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (known for the song “Buddy Holly”). In my own personal life as a young girl in the early 2000s, I also grew up listening to Holly. At the weekly drive-ins and sock-hops at the local lot, I can remember hula-hooping to “Oh Boy!”. Some of my first deep-dives into the history of rock music had been centered around The Day The Music Died, and the lasting legacy of the three rockers that lost their lives. But in particular, I’ve always been drawn to Buddy Holly: his looks, his vocals, and his legacy that can be found in so many aspects of the genre of music I’ve dedicated myself to studying. Will there ever come a day when I forget the late, great Buddy Holly? In his own words, “that’ll be the day that I die.”
Works Cited
“Buddy Holly on the Arthur Murray Dance Party 12/29/57.” YouTube, Montycombs, 20 July 2008, https://youtu.be/WQiIMuOKIzY .
Time magazine, “Bobby-Soxers’ Gallup,” Aug. 13, 1956
“Value of $1 in 1956.” Value of $1 in 1956. Inflation Calculator for Today's Dollars, www.saving.org/inflation/inflation.php?amount=1&year=1956.
Altschuler, Glenn C. All Shook Up: How Rock n Roll Changed America. Oxford University Press, 2004.
“The Origins of the Electric Guitar The Electric Guitar Family.” The Origins of the Electric Guitar：The Electric Guitar Family - Musical Instrument Guide - Yamaha Corporation, www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/electric_guitar/structure/structure002.html.
“The Buddy Holly Story: Buddy Holly Biography.” Buddy, www.buddythemusical.com/buddy-holly-bio.
“Buddy Holly.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, www.rockhall.com/inductees/buddy-holly.
Staff, NPR. “Buddy Holly At 75: A Tribute To An Unlikely Star.” NPR, NPR, 7 Sept. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/09/07/140246806/buddy-holly-at-75-a-tribute-to-an-unlikely-star.
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