Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly, or Charles Hardin Holley (7 September 1936 to 3 February 1959), was born in Lubbock, Texas. A singer-songwriter and pioneer of rock and roll, his first known recording was in 1949, of Hank Snow's "Two Timin' Woman," on a borrowed wire recorder.

He was originally influenced by bluegrass music, until he saw Elvis Presley, in 1955. Soon, he opened on the same bill with Presley. Later, he opened on the same bill as Bill Haley and the Comets, and ended up with a recording deal at Decca Records. Decca misspelled his last name as "Holly," and an icon was born. He later formed the band The Crickets. He played rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and mandolin. Decca had parted ways with Holly, and the Crickets signed with Brunswick Records, a subsidiary of Decca. Holly signed with Brunswick's Coral label as a solo artist at the same time. Holly had a unique vocal style, with hiccups, extra syllables, and abrupt changes of pitch.

He influenced many of the musicians of his own day, as well as many musicians to follow, such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. In 1986, he was one of the first group of musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Museum's Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Buddy Holly #13, in their 2004 Top Fifty Performers of all Time.

After one and a half years of success, Buddy Holly's career was cut short when he died in a plane crash in Iowa, five miles from the airport. Also killed was Richie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot.