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".

Dream Baby
Buddy Holly Lyrics

Sweet dream baby
Sweet dream baby
Sweet dream baby
How long must I dream

Dream baby got me dreamin' sweet dreams the whole day through
Dream baby got me dreamin' sweet dreams night time too
I love you and I'm dreaming of you but that won't do
Dream baby make me stop my dreamin',
You can make my dreams come true

Sweet (sha-da-da-da) dream (sha-da-da-da)
Baby (sha-da-da-da) (sha-da-da-da)
Sweet (sha-da-da-da) dream (sha-da-da-da)
Baby (sha-da-da-da) (sha-da-da-da)
Sweet (sha-da-da-da) dream (sha-da-da-da)
Baby (sha-da-da-da) (sha-da-da-da)
How (sha-da-da-da) long (sha-da-da-da) must I dream

Dream baby got me dreamin' sweet dreams the whole day through (dream baby)
Dream baby got me dreamin' sweet dreams night time too (dream baby)
I love you and I'm dreaming of you but that won't do (dream baby)
Dream baby make me stop my dreamin',
You can make my dreams come true

Aw, sweet dream baby (dream baby ah-huh-huh)
Yeah, yeah, swee-ee-et dream baby (dream baby ah-huh-huh)
Sweet dream baby (dream baby ah-huh-huh)
How long must I dream
Sweet dream baby (dream baby ah-huh-huh)
Sweet dream baby (dream baby ah-huh-huh)

Sweet dream baby

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Written by: Cindy Walker

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@edmacy51

22w↑5

The single best performance this actor ever gave us as he portrayed Buddy. I’m old as I wrote this I forgot the actors name.

@That_AMC_Guy

17w↑1

Gary Busey.

@herveravat5379

27w↑2

En live et en couleur 😮😂, avec en plus le son qui est tout à fait correct ! Bravo et Merci pour ce moment de bonheur 👏👏👏🥳🥳

@peterhaynes8258

15w

Great film, Garry Busy played the part very well, some other great actors too, but a very sad loss to music in 1959, Rest in Peace, Buddy, Ritchie, JP ( Big Bopper ) and Roger.

@markhendershot3734

29w↑6

Saw buddy holly at the duluth armory when I was a kid...he sang this song. Wore a tie

@happyolddude

Actually you are partly right. He was not wearing a tie but a kravat according to the 22 photos I have from that show. Three are in colour and he is wearing a brown coloured kravat.

@davidnettleton7084

2y↑16

Gary Busey is a good Buddy Holly.

@jeanettesheppard9239

2y↑10

Gary. Busey. Is. A spectacular. Buddy. Holley.

@barrytooley6724

You. Must. Be.Kidding. Horrible. Movie.

@Pimp-Master

1y↑11

Such a good moment in the film. I was working at a theater in '80 when the film debuted, and I would see people not pay again for a second ticket. Instead they'd turn around and go back inside the theater to see it again.

@m.j.c.6969

12w

This was a 1978 release not 1980. You're a little bit mixed up!

@scottbaker-ScottyB

18w

Actors were well selected in the cast.

@kryztuffersozo3722

14w

When did Buddy ever play a telecaster on TV & use a 60s amplifire.

@acitoneroyal6002

23w

B U S E Y

@RedHotHockeyYYC

1y↑4

unreal performance but why did he insist on getting the lyrics wrong?

@astrogameguysince84

16w

raise your hand if you think jake busey would've been great for this biopic!

@John-ob7dh

2y↑5

A F sharp minor D E.

@Pimp-Master

1y↑2

And with decent backing vocals, I think that's a hit.

@airborne0x0

10w

Some context in the description or title would help. Worked out what it was but I don't like that the title / description mention none of it.

@thomasrobinson182

17w

Gary Busey...

@user-eq3um4dh6l

32w

Привет из России, не смотря на политические разногласия , Бади Холли гуру для всех советских битников . Помним , любим , квпжаем ❤

@georgeforyan113

1y↑3

As Buddy Holly (Gary Busey) he sang the wrong words and many times he didn't rhyme

@wesleycook7687

Forget this farce and see The Real Buddy Holly Story produced by Paul McCartney. This movie is so inaccurate that one of the original Crickets wrote a song about it. Busey is big and a loudmouth. Buddy was lanky and quiet. Norman Petty isn't even mentioned. Too many flaws. Buddy had 3 Crickets on the Sullivan Show with him. He never wore a white sport coat. He played a Stratocaster. He played lead not rythm. Busey sounds like a bad Buddy Holly impersonater. I watched it at the theater and the ending is inconclusive unlike La Bamba which shows them boarding the plane and the aftermath of the crash. If you like this movie watch it. I hate it.

@David-sk9vv

21w

@@wesleycook7687 It wasn't meant to be accurate, due to copyrights etc... they were not allowed to present the story as it should have been. So they did the best job they were allowed to do!

@That_AMC_Guy

17w

@@David-sk9vv Fairly accurate. #1, the other Crickets had already sold their rights to a different production that fell apart. But contracts are contracts and Paramount had to abide. Hence, this film could not use the Crickets real names. Then, Norman Petty wouldn't allow his name or likeness to be used since he did not want to be portrayed in an improper manner or as the villain. So, whole sections of the script had to be ripped out. Waylon Jennings was approached but it would've been a contractual nightmare since he was on RCA Records and to get approval would've hurt the budget. I don't even believe they sought-out Carl Bunch since they couldn't get Waylon.

There are a few known deleted scenes; one of which is at the Roller Rink where Buddy & the gang sing the Tennessee Waltz. Which sort of ties in when the guy recording him says "I recorded the last two tunes". Well, the first two were slow, the last two were rockin'.

Another explains why "I'm gonna love you too" appears on the soundtrack but not in the film. Buddy Holly Historian Bill Griggs once explained to me that he got to see a pre-release version of the film. Well, the final scenes were of the boys at the air strip, getting into the plane. The plane takes off into the night and the disembodied head of Buddy comes out of the darkness telling us he's going to love us, too. Producers later decided they wanted to end the film on a happy note, cut the ending off and just ground it to a halt with the Surf Ballroom scenes.

I suspect there are other bits and pieces cut out. Watch the Coffee pot in Buddy's apartment when he and his Manager are discussing another tour. The coffee pot is on the counter, suddenly, it's on the table; THEN it goes BACK to the counter and Maria brings it over for a second time. Then it disappears altogether.

@David-sk9vv

17w

@@That_AMC_Guy Your knowledge is excellent! The point at which they ended the film was perfect, it gave it more impact I feel.

We all feel Petty was a bad guy anyway. The songs are very different without ALL of those awful backing vocals added in.

I do firmly believe that if Buddy had lived, we not only have the most iinovative musician of any generation but also the greatest record producer of all time. Just my opinion.

@That_AMC_Guy

17w

@@David-sk9vv I can't say either way. I generally don't like films that end with reading - that's just sloppy and an obvious cop-out. While it does end the film on a high note; we all know the subject matter so why sugar coat it? I'd like to see the final scenes before I render judgement.

I prefer La Bamba, despite it's inaccuracies but the ending has way more impact showing how Connie, Bob & even Donna reacted to Ritchie's death. It always makes me tear up a bit.

1 More Replies...

@markjamesmeli2520

1y↑2

Singing voice sounds NOTHING like the REAL Buddy Holly.

@poilochien

11w

fake !

it looks like a rabbit crossed with a cocker 😃I would never had to think that a rabbit could wear some glasses !

@barrytooley6724

1y↑1

Horrible movie, horrible soundtrack

@johnsantanas

1y↑1

Why?

@tonyfox6044

33w

I agree

@That_AMC_Guy

17w↑2

@@tonyfox6044 I disagree. The movie was made under some pretty horrible circumstances. It's a fantastic movie if it were called "Generic 1950's Rocker Story". It certainly has very little to do with Buddy Holly. But Gary Busey did an amazing job on the music. Not a lot of movies would try this ever again where the actors actually had to learn their instruments and play the songs LIVE.

@Tony-yp7ok

@@That_AMC_Guy you might enjoy this - the performances are superb. It’s the London production of the Buddy musical. Gus MacGregor is excellent as Buddy Holly, much closer to the original than Gary Busey.

https://youtu.be/U4eOMWf3R8g?si=n2SueXWSN9u54r-E