Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Budd… Read Full Bio ↴Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock.

He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.

Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley. Unhappy with Bradley's control in the studio and with the sound he achieved there, he went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day", among other songs. Petty became the band's manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to "The Crickets", which became the name of Holly's band. In September 1957, as the band toured, "That'll Be the Day" topped the US "Best Sellers in Stores" chart and the UK Singles Chart. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, "Peggy Sue".

The album Chirping Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after, toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died".

During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Weezer, and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of "100 Greatest Artists".

Baby It's Love
Buddy Holly Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sixty seconds of heavenly bliss
One minute of your sweet kiss
Then my heart was all a mess
It's love - baby, it's love

Sixty minutes of you in my arms
One hour to learn of all your charms
Then my heart's like a fire alarm

It's love - baby, it's love

Twelve hours of you to tantalize
One day for me to realize
My heart flutters like butterflies
It's love - baby, it's love

Seven days - a wedding to plan
One week and then I begin
My life of a happy married man
It's love - baby, it's love

Four weeks of quarrels and kisses
One month of fighting the missus

I'm wondering now what the heck that this is
It's love - baby, it's love

Overall Meaning

The song "Baby It's Love" by Buddy Holly is a romantic song that seeks to describe the overwhelming feeling of love experienced by someone in a relationship. The song is based on a time frame and explores how the feeling of love grows stronger over time. The lyrics are divided into five parts, each part detailing a different stage in the process of falling in love.

The first stanza talks about how just one kiss can put someone's heart in disarray, and how that feeling is a sign of love. It highlights how a small gesture or action from someone we love can set our feelings off in a way that no other emotion can. The second stanza reveals how much time has been spent together, yet how every moment still feels magical. There's an allusion to the fact that the person is still discovering things about their loved one and how it is all-consuming.

The third stanza describes the different nuances of being in love. The person describes feeling like their heart is filled with butterflies, and how that feeling grows stronger with the passage of time. The fourth stanza is about a wedding, symbolizing the peak of two people's love story. Finally, the last stanza brings forth the reality of a long-term relationship. It talks about how the initial excitement and happy times transform into misunderstandings, arguments, and compromise. The way the song's lyrics build on themselves and tell a story of love's progression is a testament to Buddy Holly's talent as a songwriter.

Baby It's LoveBuddy Holly Lyrics

Baby It's Love
Buddy Holly Lyrics