Buddy came straight out of Lubbock Texas fully formed in the wake of Elvis. He’d served his apprenticeship playing hillbilly in a musical partnership with his friend Bob Montgomery. He learnt to be an excellent guitarist, developed great harmonies and got down the rudiments of song writing. They were successful locally playing their country songs. That was to change the minute Buddy got to see Elvis perform. He was blown away and immediately wanted his own band and was consumed with the desire to play Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Though Buddy was not what you’d call a classic Rock Star with his skinny frame and horn-rimmed glasses he came to be accepted in the part. When he got a guitar on he rocked.
That Rack Band was called the Crickets and they rehearsed in Buddy’s garage doing covers of various hits of the day as well as the originals. It left a record that was mined after his death.
Buddy set to writing Rock songs and came up with some things of real genius. He had an ear for melody, a great voice and could come up with some great lyrics to fit the music. They got themselves a contract with Decca but that didn’t work out. The guys at the recording session didn’t know how to handle Rock ‘n’ Roll and found Buddy too awkward.
They left under a cloud but those early tapes really rocked. They caught Buddy all fired up and sounding like he was cooking on speed. I adore that sound.
Norman Petty then signed them up to his Coral label. The production was great and Buddy had a big say in things. The result was a number of great singles and three incredible albums. It catapulted them to the top. They were the hottest Rock ‘n’ Roll trio on the planet once Elvis had succumbed to Hollywood and RCA.
They toured extensively and even played the Harlem Apollo to a great reception from a black audience. Buddy’s guitar playing, singing style and song writing was in a league of its own.
Then Buddy got married, moved to New York and the Crickets split up. He changed his style to a smoother type of ballad. It wasn’t quite the Rock ‘n’ Roll of earlier but it still cooked sausages. He was writing new songs continuously and recording demos on his home tape machine. Life in New York was different and he hankered to get back with the Crickets. There were phone calls and talk of a reunion. It never happened.
Buddy wanted to get back on the road and signed up for a tour. It was called the Winter Dance Party and involved a three week tour of the Mid-West. After a gig at Clear Lake in Iowa he decided to take a plane. The tour bus had a problem with the heating system and was freezing. He took off, bound for Moorhead Minnesota but never made it. He was killed along with Ritchie Valens and Big Bopper.
Buddy had numerous posthumous releases as the garage tapes, studio and home tapes were scoured. The quality was amazing.
Buddy inspired generations of Rockers with his amazing songs and style. It would have been incredible to have seen him interact with the Beatles. We were robbed of so much. He was really just at the beginning. In less than three short years he had produced a wealth of unbelievable songs. Imagine what we would have had with another thirty years? He was only twenty three when he died!
It’s a toss up for me whether Buddy or Jimi was the biggest loss.
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