![]() ![]() His sway over the songwriters of the British Invasion period, and even on modern country music, which is where I think Holly would have gone had he lived, is immense. ![]() His influence on other acts is well-documented. Still, it makes me sad to think that Holly would never see his musical baby grow up. He started a tradition of songwriting which lasts until today the idea that a song can be immediate, and be immortal at the same time. Holly seemed to be able to do it naturally, and in short order. Songwriters spend their whole lives slaving over getting their craft up to this level. In the process, he gave the act of songwriting a quality that was something akin to creating life beyond its creator, and beyond the times in which a song was first written. He could take three minutes and make them transcendent using odd timbres, weird chord changes that worked, and interesting rhythm patterns (see another Holly hit, “ Peggy Sue” – where did he get that strumming pattern from?). I think what Buddy Holly brought to the table in his 18 month recording career was pure craft. And Elvis gave the beast legs, in every sense of the word. Little Richard gave us theatricality, flamboyance, and a hint of the funk. Chuck Berry gave us a clear manifesto Cars, Makin’ out, and No School. ![]() Bo Diddley brought out the rhythm encoded in our genes all the way back to Africa. The great thing about the first wave of rock ‘n’ roll is that everyone in the pantheon seemed to have a place in making sure that this music would make a lasting impact. Holly knew how to structure a song as a whole, do it unconventionally, and still make it stick in your head. He didn’t invent the middle-eight, but he sure did make it an important part of rock songwriting, breaking the pattern of verse-chorus-verse, and giving rock songwriting the same potential depth and variety as any tin pan alley tune. Artists like Bobby Vee, and James Taylor had similar chart success when covering this unassuming little song, which sounds like a kid’s song, if not for the twisty-turny middle-eight section. And in this tune, kind of a soft-spoken rock n’ roll lullaby, he manages to make a song which is not only charming in its simplicity, but also one which is highly interpretable and timeless. He understood the importance of timbre as a means of getting the attention of listeners, and expanded the definition of what a pop song could be in the process. I think Holly’s unconventional approach to arranging his songs is one of the many reasons he was so ahead of his time. Eventually, he would be one of the first white performers to play the Apollo Theatre in an era where racial integration was not a mainstream idea. His initial career as a country singer changed course when he became enamoured with the sounds of electrified rock 'n' roll. Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock Texas, September 7, 1936. The song was in many ways kind of an oddity in the rock’n’ roll world, using as it does a celesta as its lead instrument, rather than Buddy’s standard sunburst Fender stratocaster, and without a drum kit in sight, too. Listen to this song by Lubbock Texas’ favourite son, Buddy Holly. ![]()
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