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".
Mailman
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mailman, bring me no more blues
One little letter is all I can use
She wrote me only one sad line
Told me, she's no longer mine
Mr. Mailman, that'll do for some time
So hard, couldn't cry no more
Shoo shoo mailman, stay away from my door
Mailman, bring me no more blues
Mailman, bring me no more blues
One little letter is all I can use
In Buddy Holly's Mailman Bring Me No More Blues, he speaks about receiving a letter from his former lover. The song opens with him pleading with the mailman to not bring him any more letters from his ex-girlfriend. He requests that he just needs one letter from her and not to bring anymore. Buddy Holly then explains that he received only one letter from her, but it was a sad one informing him that she was no longer his. He then tells the mailman that he doesn't need any more letters from her for a while.
The song takes a sad turn as Holly begins to cry like never before. He cries so hard that he couldn't cry anymore. He then asks the mailman to stay away from his door and not to bring him any more blues. In the last verse, Buddy Holly reiterates his request to the mailman for one little letter from his former lover and no more.
Mailman Bring Me No More Blues is a classic rock and roll song that captures the emotions of heartbreak and the pain of receiving bad news through a letter. The song has a simple but effective melody that showcases Holly's beautiful voice, and the lyrics are relatable to anyone who has gone through a breakup or has been bogged down with bad news.
Line by Line Meaning
Mailman, bring me no more blues
I don't want any more bad news or negative messages delivered to me through the mail.
One little letter is all I can use
I only want to receive one short message from my former lover, even if it's a sad one.
She wrote me only one sad line
My ex-girlfriend only wrote me one brief message about how she no longer wants to be with me.
Told me, she's no longer mine
She informed me that our romantic relationship has come to an end and she is no longer committed to me.
Mr. Mailman, that'll do for some time
I don't want to receive any more letters for a while, especially not any from her, as they will only make me feel worse.
Cry, like never before
I felt extremely sad and could not stop myself from crying.
So hard, couldn't cry no more
I cried so much that I became physically incapable of shedding any more tears.
Shoo shoo mailman, stay away from my door
I want the mailman to avoid my house and not bring me any more bad news or messages.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: BILL KATZ, RUTH ROBERTS, STANLEY CLAYTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patrick Stocks
She wrote me only one ☝️ sad ☹️ night
Told me she’s no longer mine
Sue Sue mailman, that will do for sometime
Mailman, bring me no more blues
Mailman, bring me no more blues
One ☝️ more heartache is all I can use
Mailman, bring me no more blues
Mailman, bring me no more blues
KING_Fresh27
Words cannot describe how much I love buddy holly’s music
Something Oldish
Buddy Holly always manages to bring a smile to my face, even on the darkest of days.
Graham Andrews
Buddy's death was the greatest loss to popular music - ever. Years ahead of his time.
Viv Higgins
Yes he was but elvis was brilliant and cris norman is good but here rod stewet is brilliant the bee gees shaking steven's hansome and lot off other's,❤
Barry Hestand
There's just something magical about his music.
Chris Monk
I agree... What a talented guy. Wrote some masterpieces at such a young age. Like Elvis. His mix of country..pop. And rhythm& blues was unique
Ignacio Clerici
@Chris Monk elvis never wrote song
Chris Monk
@Ignacio Clerici didn't say he did. .. "Like Elvis, his blend of country, pop, and rythem and blues was unique"
Dan H
His bluuuuuuuees
Kevin holly
Couldn’t agree more! He was absolutely perfection🕶