LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – In the mid 1950’s, Buddy Holly and a few friends formed The Crickets and started a working relationship with producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico.
Alexandra Pitts, curator for the Buddy Holly Center, said putting all these people together changed the music landscape as we knew it.
“One of the really unique things about producing with Norman Petty is he is going to charge by the song and not by the hour, and so that gives all of the bands and especially Buddy Holly and The Crickets the opportunity to explore every avenue that they want in songwriting and producing,” Pitts said.
After the release of “The Chirping Crickets” in Nov. 1957, the band took their talents across the pond as one of the first rock bands to tour internationally.
“Many rock historians will tell you that sort of kickstarted rock n’ roll history there because U.K. bands that we all know and love,” Pitts said. “The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, they’re all going to come out of that area and all because they got to see Buddy Holly perform there and that’s going to kickstart their careers as well in the 1960’s.”
Holly was killed in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959. Even though that’s the day the music died, it doesn’t mean Holly faded away.
In 1979, he was recognized as the first member of the West Texas Walk of Fame by his friend and bandmate, Waylon Jennings. 20 years later, the Buddy Holly Center would open, featuring artifacts from his childhood and countless dedications from musicians dedicated to the man himself.
You can even step inside the place where the name Peggy Sue was first written as lyrics to a future classic love song.
“It’s J.I. Allison’s boyhood home,” Pitts said. “This is where they’re going to write most of their songs when they’re just kind of getting started and working with Norman Petty.”
Even though he didn’t get to finish his budding career, Buddy Holly is a west Texas and rock n’ roll icon who made his impact in just a short 22 years.
“He’s a small town boy that we don’t think, hey that’s me or I can’t possibly make a difference, but you can and that’s what he did,” Pitts said. “It’s important to get that story across, not just yes, you can do anything you set your mind to, but he also was that pioneer in rock n’ roll and he’s going to set that trend and it’s going to be huge.”
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