Buddy Holly

Though his career was tragically brief, Buddy Holly was one of the biggest innovators and most influential artists from the first wave of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s. He was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas, and learned to play guitar as a child, soaking up the sounds of country music and R&B in the '40s. In the early '50s, he started to play in various groups with friends, even appearing on local TV and radio. Holly was a solo artist by the mid '50s, inspired by (and even opening a couple of shows for) Elvis Presley. In 1956, Holly got a deal with Decca Records. He cut a couple of singles with musicians chosen by the label, but they went nowhere, and he was soon dropped by Decca. In 1957, with a band including bassist Joe Mauldin, drummer Jerry Allison, and guitarist Niki Sullivan, Holly made a demo with Clovis, New Mexico-based producer Norman Petty, who became Holly's manager. Holly signed with Brunswick Records, but because he was technically still contracted to Decca, his first single for them, "That'll Be the Day," came out under the band name The Crickets. The song, which found Holly taking creative control and establishing his own unique sound, went to No. 1 and established him as one of rock 'n' roll's most important new artists. Throughout '57 and '58, Holly and his band unleashed a string of immortal hits that would become rock 'n' roll standards, alternating between using the band name and Holly's name. Singles like "Peggy Sue," "Oh Boy," "Maybe Baby" and "Rave On" helped cement Holly's legacy and would become a key influence on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and countless others. Later in 1958, Holly began to have conflicts with both Petty and The Crickets, and by the end of the year he had separated himself from both. He recorded a few songs for the Coral label backed by an orchestra, including "True Love Ways" and "It Doesn't Matter Anymore." But his career came to a shocking halt when Holly was killed on February 3, 1959 at the age of 22. He died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, while all three were on tour together.