Buddy Holly: Rave On
Film telling the story of Buddy Holly's tragically short life and career through interviews with those who knew and worked with him, combined with contributions from music fans.
He was lanky, he wore glasses and he sang as if permanently battling hiccups. Aesthetically, Buddy Holly might have been the most unlikely looking rock 'n' roll star of the 50s. But he was, after Elvis Presley, unquestionably the most influential.
It was an all-too-brief career that lasted barely 18 months from That'll Be The Day topping the Billboard charts to the plane crash in February 1959 in Iowa that took Holly's life. That day was immortalised in Don McLean's 1971 song American Pie, and has become known as 'the day the music died'.
This film tells the story of Buddy Holly's tragically short life and career through interviews with those who knew him and worked with him. This combined with contributions from music fans paints a picture of an artist who changed music. Rock 'n' roll started with Elvis, but pop music started with Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
In an age of solo stars, Holly also led the first recognisable 'pop' group, The Crickets, who in name alone inspired The Beatles. As a songwriter, he revolutionised rock 'n' roll by introducing dynamic new rhythms and unpredictable melodies beyond its traditional blues roots. In his songs, written and recorded in the late 50s, we can already hear the beat group sound of the 60s and beyond.
Buddy Holly's story remains one of the most dramatic tales in rock 'n' roll, one which nearly 60 years after his breakthrough hit That'll Be The Day, deserves to be told again for a new generation. His life was tragically short. His legacy is triumphantly infinite.
Last on
Clip
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Brian May's earliest Buddy Holly record
Duration: 03:02
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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Buddy Holly
You and I Are Through
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Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery
Flower of My Heart
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Buddy Holly
Love Me
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Buddy Holly
Blue Days Black Nights
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Buddy Holly
That聮ll Be The Day (1956 recording)
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Buddy Holly
That聮ll Be The Day (1957 recording)
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Buddy Holly
I'm Looking For Someone To Love
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Buddy Holly
Peggy Sue
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Buddy Holly
Everyday
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Buddy Holly
Not Fade Away
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Buddy Holly
Heartbeat
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The Crickets
Maybe Baby
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Buddy Holly
Well Allright
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Buddy Holly
Rave On
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The Crickets
Oh Boy!
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Buddy Holly
Changing All Those Changes
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Buddy Holly
Words Of Love
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Buddy Holly
Raining In My Heart
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Buddy Holly
It Doesn聮t Matter Any More
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Buddy Holly
True Love Ways
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Don McLean
American Pie
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The Quarrymen
That聮ll Be The Day
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Elvis Presley
Baby Let鈥檚 Play House
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Performer | Buddy Holly |
Production Company | 1515 Productions Ltd |
Director | George Scott |
Producer | Nick de Grunwald |
Producer | Celia Moore |
Participant | Jerry Allison |
Participant | Maria Elena Holly |
Participant | Larry Holley |
Participant | Sonny West |
Participant | David Bigham |
Participant | Kevin Montgomery |
Participant | Don McLean |
Participant | Edna Gundersen |
Participant | Paul Anka |
Participant | Dion DiMucci |
Participant | Sonny Curtis |
Participant | Bob Harris |
Participant | Don Everly |
Participant | Albert Lee |
Participant | Hank Marvin |
Participant | Robert Wyatt |
Participant | Brian May |
Participant | Larry Welborn |
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