The legacy lives on 50 years later
February 3, 1959…
Thanks to Don McLean, it’s now simply known as the “day the music died.” Fifty years after that date, I’m not so sure he was right. Though three lives were lost and three careers cut tragically short, the music is still living to this day.
I don’t know quite what to say about this day, as I wasn’t even a glimmer when it happened. That said, I’m a big Buddy Holly fan, and the man who was his bass player for that Winter Dance Party tour is my all-time favorite artist – Waylon Jennings. Though I haven’t heard much of the Big Bopper’s music, I love “Chantilly Lace.” Of course, I’ve heard Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” and I’ve been serenaded countless times by various people with bits and pieces of “Donna,” for the obvious reason.
I’m not sure when I first started listening to Buddy Holly’s music. As a kid, I was a big fan of what was considered “oldies” music, as my parents had a lot of rock-and-roll albums. They didn’t have any Buddy Holly, but I listened to the likes of The Ventures and Jerry Lee Lewis. (Of course, there’s also the famous Waylon Jennings album – Greatest Hits – that I played so much I wore it out!) I can remember liking Buddy’s music while still in elementary school. He had an interesting sound – different, but catchy and likable. If I had to guess which song I heard first, it would probably have been “Peggy Sue” simply because that’s one of the first I can remember hearing, and because it’s played a lot on TV and such.
In any case, I wish things had turned out differently so that we could have seen how far their careers would go – Buddy’s in particular (for me, anyway). That said, I’m glad to know their music and proud to be a Buddy Holly fan. I’m also (a bit selfishly, perhaps) glad Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on that plane so that we could see him not only become a country music legend, but also help keep Buddy’s memory alive by continuing to record and play his songs.
The artists may have died that day, but the music lives on forever.
Btw, this is a banner I made for a forum signature several years ago. I’ve since posted it on my MySpace and a few other places.
I grew up listening to Buddy Holly, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison (still one of my faves), etc. Oh yeah, the Ventures as well. My brother was a guitarist and a big fan of the Ventures so I grew up knowing these old songs by heart. Still listen to and enjoy the oldies. Like you said here, the music lasts forever!
Oh, yeah…I loved The Ventures growing up. My parents had several of their albums, and I can remember playing those over and over. (Not quite as much as the Waylon album, but close.) I could listen to them all day and not get bored. In fact, listening to Mel Taylor’s drumming on the Ventures’ albums was one of the main reasons I became a drummer. Those beats were infectious! (Sandy Nelson helped as well; they had a couple of his albums also.)
There is a video of them on YouTube playing “Wipeout,” which is still one of my favorites, and I can’t get over how much variety Mel gets with that tiny drum kit…genius!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8__EwAT8VM
I don’t even remember if I had a favorite Ventures tune back then, as I loved most of their stuff. “Wipeout” is an obvious favorite, as were “Pipeline,” “Percolator,” “Hawaii 5-0,” “Walk Don’t Run,” the list goes on.
Hah! Just found “Percolator” on YouTube – hadn’t heard it in ages. Still love this song…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-W5crYm7Gc
(The album they show at the end of the video is one of the ones I listened to way back when.)