Holly, Buddy, 1936–59, American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, b. Lubbock, Tex., as Charles Hardin Holley. He performed country and western music while a teenager, but influenced by black rhythm and blues and by Elvis Presley Presley, Elvis, 1935–77, American popular singer, b. Tupelo, Miss. Exposed to gospel music from childhood, Presley began playing guitar before his adolescence. He first recorded in 1953, became a national sensation by 1956, and dominated rock music until 1963.
..... Click the link for more information. he switched to the rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s. His band, the Crickets, was one of the first to use the instrumentation that became the rock standard: two guitars, bass, and drums. Holly's sweet tenor with its frequent hiccuping hesitations, his melodic songs, and the group's innovative studio work set them apart from other early bands. They scored their first hit with "That'll Be the Day" (1957), which as followed by "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy" (1957) and "Maybe Baby" and "Rave On" (1958). Holly left the Crickets in 1958, but his promising solo career ended when he died in a plane crash while on tour. Killed with him were two other popular young rockers, Richie Valens and J. P. Richardson (the Big Bopper). Holly, who influenced many in later generations of rock artists, was among the first group of musicians inducted (1986) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

See biographies by J. Goldrosen and J. Beecher (1987, repr. 2001), E. Amburn (1995), and P. Norman (1996); L. Lehmer, The Day the Music Died (1997, repr. 2004).

Holly, Buddy

orig. Charles Hardin Holley

(born Sept. 7, 1936, Lubbock, Texas, U.S.—died Feb. 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa) U.S. singer and songwriter. He played in country music bands while in high school. Later switching to rock and roll (see rock music), Holly and his band, the Crickets, had hits in 1957 with songs such as “That'll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” and “Oh, Boy!” Holly died at age 22 in a plane crash, along with the singers Richie Valens (b. 1941) and The Big Bopper (Jape Richardson, b. 1930). He left behind many recordings that were released posthumously, and he soon attained legendary stature; he was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Holly, Buddy (nickname of Charles Hardin Holley) (1936–59) musician; born in Lubbock, Texas. An early rock 'n' roll star, he began as a country-and-western singer and gradually added rhythm-and-blues elements to his innovative style. With his band, the Crickets, he established the standard rock instrumentation of two guitars, bass, and drums. He toured the U.S.A. extensively for two years before his death in a plane crash in Iowa. He became one of rock's most enduring cult figures and much of his material was released posthumously.