My front yard
As much bitching as I've done about this winter, I think I'm beginning to hit some stride - I've found some good music to listen to, and God knows I've found some great subjects for a shot in all the ice and snow. It hasn't been all that bad a winter after all!
I didn't have a blog post last week about the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, but it did mean something to me.
When I was a junior in high school, that stupid Kyrie Elaison song and all those Mike + the Mechanics songs were hits, and that was the last damn straw; that's when I could not take it anymore and dropped out of listening to current Top 40 music for the first time. I went back in time, and started at the very beginnings of rock, and worked my way forward, immersing myself in each genre/era along the way.
I began of course, with the mid-'50s, and ended up spending a fair amount of time listening to music of the three young men who died in that plane crash. Buddy's music especially, and the tragedy of that loss, stuck with me for quite a while.
I haven't listened to anything by the three of them ... probably since then, really. But with the anniversary, and everyone posting so much music, I've been able to download some and relive what I liked so much about it.
So here is the song that I took immediately to heart back in high school; yes, Buddy and the Crickets could rock and roll, but the quiet and prettiness of this song made it my favorite of his work. (To say nothing of his phrasing; he sings it almost as though the lyrics themselves are the roller coaster mentioned in them.)
Buddy Holly - Everyday
And is it just me, or in all the praise people give him for his musical talent, does no one ever mention his voice? What a voice. He could have gone so far.
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7 comments:
ohhh, one of my favorites, and it goes perfectly with the photo, of course!
My friend is a music archivist, and he worked on a project where he went to Buddy's studio in Lubbock. It's still exactly the same way it was since the day Buddy died. the curtains are AMAZING.
xoxo
I was listening to Buddy Holly last week too. It struck me how far far ahead of his time he was. The minimalist production, the use of xylophone. These things all predicted the pop ends of indie music by 40 years or so.
I was wondering to myself if Buddy Holly sounds so perfect and pristine because that music is all we have from him. We don't have the memories of him becoming a bloated icon, touring the oldies circuit or making horrible attempts to stay relevant through the 60s, 70s and 80s. On the other hand, maybe he would have been a pioneer and pre-empted the astonishing developments of the Beatles, Beach Boys, Hendrix, et al. by a few years himself.
Karen: don't you love that song? There's just soemthign about it. And I'd love to see that studio.
54cermak: I was thinking that myself - that his shooting-his-way-to-the-top-talent is all we have so we look at him differently.
He was, from everything I've read, not just talented, but sweet as can be ... and very shrewd. There's no doubt in my mind that the affection he'd earn from the public through his talent and personality, combined with his ability, would have kept him propelled upward for years.
Buddy Holly Forever!!
Mike & the Mechanics For Never...
Amen!
Everyday is one of my favorites. So wistful...
Have you seen Buddy sing Peggy Sue with some incredibly stiff people in the background?
Everyday is one of my favorites. So wistful...
*sigh* Yeah.
That clip - I don't think I saw a crinoline sway a quarter-inch. I hope to hell Buddy (and the Crickets) got paid really, really well for that gig.
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