Quote of the Day (John Fogerty, on What Buddy Holly Meant to Him and Others)

“I just want to tell you what Buddy Holly meant to me. I was twelve years old, and I was working at a beach resort, and that voice and guitar came up over the PA. I went out and bought ‘That'll Be the Day,’ started learning the words. A few months later, I bought the album, and that album set a course in musical history…. There was a group pictured on the cover… and it was the first time you saw a group in rock ‘n roll. I thought, ‘I'm gonna have a group.’ Over in Liverpool, the same thing was going on with four other guys. They named their group the Beatles because Buddy Holly's group was called the Crickets. In 1963, these four guys chose to end their great song ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ with the little syncopation Buddy Holly used in the chorus after the solo. Well, about twenty years later, a kid was writing a song about how it feels to be back [Fogerty’s ‘Centerfield’], and he ended his song with the same riff--came from the same place.”— John Fogerty, speech inducting Buddy Holly in the first class of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Jan. 23, 1986

Considering that his life was cut tragically short in a plane crash at age 23, it’s hard to believe that Charles Hardin Holley was born 80 years ago today in Lubbock, Texas. But it’s even harder to believe that Buddy Holly, as singer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer, created a musical legend and legacy in a recording career that lasted only about 18 months—songs covered, on vinyl or in concert, not just by The Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival, but also by the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead, and Bruce Springsteen, to name just a few: “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Oh Boy!”, “It’s So Easy,” “Heartbeat,” “Everyday,” and “Rave On.”

Listen and marvel at a catalog that will “Not Fade Away.”