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".
It S Too Late
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's too late, my baby?s gone
Wish I had told her, she was my only one
But it's too late, she's gone
It's a weak man that cries
So I guess I'd best dry my eyes
Guess I will miss her more than any one
But it's too late, she's gone
She's gone, my my baby's gone
She's gone, yes, she's gone
Where can my baby be
I wonder does she know
When she left me, it hurt me so
I need your lovin', please don't make me weep
And tell me, it's not too late
In Buddy Holly & The Crickets' song It's Too Late, the singer is expressing his regret for not telling his love interest how he truly felt about her. He is devastated that she has left and wishes he had expressed his feelings before it was too late. He acknowledges that it is a sign of weakness to cry but he cannot help missing her terribly. He wonders where she has gone and whether she knows how much he was hurt by her departure. The singer pleads with his love interest to come back to him and not to make him weep, hoping that it's not too late.
The lyrics are poignant and speak to the universal experience of regret, loss, and the importance of expressing one's feelings. It's Too Late is a classic example of a breakup song that many people can relate to. The use of repetition in the opening lines "It's too late, she's gone / It's too late, my baby's gone" works to emphasize the finality and irreversibility of the situation.
One of the interesting facts about the song is that it was one of Buddy Holly's final recordings before his death in 1959. It was released posthumously in 1960 as a single and reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Crickets recorded a version of the song in 1958, but it was never released until it was included in a posthumous album in 1965. The song has been covered by various artists, including Otis Redding, John Lennon, and Neil Young.
Line by Line Meaning
It's too late, she's gone
The woman I loved has left and it's now too late to fix things
It's too late, my baby?s gone
My loved one has left and there's nothing I can do to bring her back
Wish I had told her, she was my only one
I regret not expressing my emotions for her while she was still here with me
But it's too late, she's gone
There's nothing that can be done because she has already left
It's a weak man that cries
A common stereotype that men shouldn't showcase their emotions
So I guess I'd best dry my eyes
I'll compose myself and try not to shed any more tears
Guess I will miss her more than any one
The feeling of loss will be quite devastating
But it's too late, she's gone
There's nothing that can be done because she has already left
She's gone, yes, she's gone
She is no longer with me, and that realization is heartbreaking
She's gone, my my baby's gone
My loved one has left and it's difficult to cope with
She's gone, yes, she's gone
The woman I loved has left, and it's really hard to accept
Where can my baby be
I'm feeling lost without my loved one around me
I wonder does she know
I'm wondering if my loved one knows how much I miss her
When she left me, it hurt me so
The pain of losing my loved one has been excruciating
I need your lovin', please don't make me weep
I need love and affection to fill the void left by the absence of my loved one
And tell me, it's not too late
I'm hoping that it's not too late to fix things and bring back the woman I loved
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: JOHN STERLING, ERIC VICTOR BURDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donny Pinedo
It's too late - she's gone
It's too late - my baby's gone
Wish I had told her - she was my only one
But it's too late - she's gone
It's a weak man that cries
So I guess I'd best dry my eyes
Guess I will miss her more than anyone
But it's too late - she's gone
She's gone - yes, she's gone
She's gone - my my baby's gone
She's gone - yes, she's gone
Where can my baby be
I wonder does she know
When she left me - it hurt me so
I need your loving - please don't make me weep
And tell me - it's not too late
I need your loving - please don't make me weep
And tell me - it's not too late (not too late)
Appalachian Outcast
An interesting fact:
look almost just like him. I’m from Texas, have a bit of a similar voice, and play guitar and some other instruments. I remember singing a while ago and my parents and everybody said I reminded them of Buddy Holly. Then my parents looked at my family tree. There he was. On my family tree. I’m also same religion as him. I’m a baptist he was too. And I realized that my father looked like buddy too. I am happy to be related to him. I impersonate him
Some information about Buddy Holly:
Buddy Holly was only 22 when he died and sang since he was around 13. He was in a country and western duo with bob Montgomery for a while then he joined the crickets in late 1957. They had good songs together, such as, Oh Boy!, Peggy Sue, That’ll be the day, Everyday, and words of love. He was no doubt great at a lot. I don’t like him because he’s my relative, I like him because he has talent. I was a fan of him before I figured out I was related to him. But his band was mainly friends but he had his 3rd cousin by marriage join. Niki Sullivan was in there but then quit because he wasn’t a fan of the traveling. Then it was stuck with Buddy Holly, Joe B Mauldin, and Jerry Allison. Then the crickets got in a argument because Buddy wanted to record in New York. But Jerry and joe wanted to stay in Clovis New Mexico. Also Joe and Jerry were drinking a little bit. Then Buddy on a tour that took his life along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Maria Elena Holly had a miscarriage and lost the baby. She was devastated and she never remarried again. February 3rd 1959 was then nicknamed The Day The Music Died. And there is some theories that Buddy shot The Big Bopper but there was no way it was possible for Buddy, Ritchie, or The Big Bopper to live. The last thing I want to say is....
R.I.P
Jeff Lipinski
I can relate to this.. Buddy was so good.. I'm glad these rare songs are not forgotton by youtube or the public.. LONG LIVE BUDDY AND HIS MUSIC !!!!!!!!
D Doeser
Onvergetelijk R.I.P ❤🇳🇱🙏Jaar 2023 Tijdstip 09:48 UUR Woensdagochtend (8 Augustus)
buddyhollylive
This is my favourite Holly song, even though he wasn't the author - he owns it completely and it permeates his spirit. You can hear the early use of echo - In fact, "It's not too late" - the music lives on. 5 stars
Terry Winter
Derik and the Dominos do a fantastic cover of this song.
Jason Touvi
This is one of my favorite ballads written by Larry Williams and sung by the immaculate Buddy Holly.
Tonetwisters
Buddy's Blues-Rock powerhouse. Tremendous vocal range and great feeling of despair. This man could sing ballads and hard rockers and Gospel-sounders (Early In The Morning) and Blues like this one ... what an incredible talent.
Ronnie Knight
I cry inside every time i hear his voice, in all these years he has never been matched in talent
brad b
He never will be either .
Kevin holly
I do as well! He was so so special👍👌
Kevin holly
No end to this boy’s talent! RIP Buddy👌