Today is the 50th anniversary of what has rightfully become known as, “the day the music died.” It was five decades ago that the plane carrying Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens crashed in Iowa breaking the hearts of countless teenagers and changing the course of rock’n’roll history forever.
Do the boys, and everyone else, a favor: please don’t play Don McClean’s “American Pie” on a jukebox or a karaoke bar ever again. Sure, it makes reference to the day the music died, but it is also one of the longest, most lamest, most soul-crushingly boring songs ever written. And Madonna recorded a cover of it. Enough said.
If you want to pay tribute to these fallen stars, turn up “Three Stars” by ‘50s rockabilly guitarist/friend of Holly, Eddie Cochran. Recorded shortly after the crash, Cochran was reportedly too shaken by the tragedy to allow the song to be released. Unfortunately, Cochran died shortly thereafter at age 21 in 1960, so the song is now available. Listening as Cochran’s voice shakes and he fights back tears, it is clear that this might be the saddest song ever recorded.
Among those three stars lost in the legendary plane crash, JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson was a popular DJ turned music star who won fans over with his lively persona and mostly novelty-based songs such as “Chantilly Lace” and “Preacher and the Bear.” Catchy and upbeat, Richardson was an entertainer, but likely would not have had an enduring music career.
Famous for hits such as “La Bamba” and “Donna,” Ritchie Valens was only 17 at the time of the crash. He had made quite a name for himself as a songwriter, singer and guitarist, and certainly had a promising career ahead of him.
And then there was Buddy Holly.
In his 22 short years, Holly helped define and redefine rock’n’roll, and his influence is still growing. His concerts were attended by screaming teen girls, wild rock’n’roll boys and even a Minnesota kid named Robert Zimmerman, now known as Bob Dylan.
Today, anyone with a laptop and microphone can have a recording studio, but Holly was among the first artists on the DIY bandwagon. Weezer has pretty well reduced Holly to the punchline of a pop song, but in truth, that band and many others probably owe their homemade recording empires to Holly.
Holly’s hiccup vocals are as unique today as they were when he first stepped in front of a microphone. And, there is no Stratocaster guitar sound that is as mean and sweet as Holly’s.
In the magazine’s better days, Rolling Stone’s occasionally on-point Greil Marcus offered a solid tribute to Holly. Originally published on the tenth anniversary of the crash, the story is worth reading, or re-reading, here.
Of course, the best tribute to Holly is simply to turn on one of his records and savor it.
50 Years Later is Buddy Holly Still Important?
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