Buddy Holly is a name that cannot be forgotten in the rock and roll industry. He was a rising star whose life and that of the other artists who accompanied him was cut short in a plane crash. Curious about this late artist? read more to learn more about Buddy’s life, his wife, his cause of death and the people who died with him.
Bio Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly was an American singer and songwriter born on September 7, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, under the name Charles Hardin Holley. He was the youngest child of his parents and his nickname “Buddy” was given to him by his mother. Buddy Holly learned to play the piano at an early age and his older brother taught him the basics of the guitar. By the age of 16, Buddy was already a seasoned performer and had hits such as Peggy sue and Ce sera le jour
His parents were both traders and they were very supportive of the career path Buddy chose to pursue. He was very knowledgeable and his first recording session was produced by Owen Bradley on January 26, 1956, while his breakthrough hit song titled This Will Be the Day was recorded with the Crickets in 1957. He was a rising star in the world of rock and roll, but his dreams were shattered by his death, which was memorialized in Don McLean’s song. American Pie as “the day the music died”.
wife and children
Buddy Holly was married to Marie Elena who worked as a receptionist for a music publisher called ‘Peer Music’, he first met her in August 1957 when he and his band ‘Cricket’ were visiting Peer Southern Music. Buddy Holly asked Marie out on a date and five hours later Buddy proposed to Marie but she only consented after her aunt agreed.
Two months later, on August 15, 1958, Buddy and Marie were married in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy’s hometown. The couple settled in Lubbock for a while, then moved to New York when they parted ways with their band.
However, their marriage only lasted six months when he died and at the time of death his wife, Marie was pregnant. And sadly, his wife lost the baby due to the psychological trauma of his passing.
Marie was unable to attend his funeral as she blamed herself for Buddy’s death and sources also said she was also not near where he was buried and had no visited his grave. In an interview, she said that she blamed herself because she didn’t feel well during the time Buddy was on tour, so she wasn’t able to keep up with him. She said if she had been with him on the tour, he wouldn’t have gotten on the plane that cost him and the other artist his life. However, she later remarried and also divorced, but she had three children in the marriage. Currently, she is a grandmother and lives in Texas.
History
Since the death of Buddy Holly, Marie has done her best to protect his legacy. It owns the rights to its name, image, trademarks and properties.
In 2010 Marie started a foundation with PeterBradley in Buddy’s name and dubbed it “The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation”. The foundation aims to provide music education to new emerging musicians without regard to income, ethnicity or educational limitations. The training provided covers songwriting, production, orchestration and performance. It was a way to keep Buddy Holly’s legacy alive.
How did Buddy Holly die, who died with him?
February 3 , 1959, remains an unforgettable day for rock and roll music and for his fans around the world. To this day it is referred to as ‘The Day the Music Died’. It was the day a plane crash claimed the lives of three artists and a pilot. The lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Roger Peterson (the pilot) have been cut short.
Buddy had planned a tour called The Winter Dance Tour, which caused him to start a band with Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, Carl Bunch and Frankie Sardo as vocalist. Other artists who expressed an interest in the tour joined later in supporting artists, including the famous Ritchie Valens, known for his song. la Bamba, JP Richardson and Dion DiMucci and his band called ‘The Belmonts’.
Arranging the tour was not easy as they had to visit different cities and the customer service manager was not efficient in his duties which meant that transportation logistics were haphazard. Also, the tourist bus has caught the flu for some performers due to its poor condition. This spurred Buddy to seek alternative transportation and they ended up chartering a 1947 single-engine Beecraft 35 Bonanza 35-wing from Dwyer Air Service to Fargo, ND.
The plane could only carry three passengers plus the pilot, so they decided to flip a coin to determine which two performers would join Buddy on the flight. Tommy Allsup lost the coin toss to Ritchie Valens while Waylon Jennings voluntarily gave up his seat to JP Richardson because he had a cold and so Ritchie and Richardson joined Buddy on the ill-fated plane.
On takeoff the pilot was unable to control the air Due to the weather the plane crashed and after an unsuccessful wait search parties were dispatched and the wreckage of the plane was found six miles to the north. northwest of the airport, with the mutilated bodies of the performers and the pilot, all dead.
Since 1979, a concert has usually been held annually at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake—the location of its last performance and the place where they first took off—to honor and remember the fallen artists.