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".
Rock Around With Ollie Vee
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues
Well I got a little gal I call, Ollie Vee
Ollie Vee comes from Memphis, Memphis Tennessee
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
Ollie Vee says she's gonna treat me right tonight
I'm gonna wear my blue suede shoes tonight
And tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
We-ell, we're gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues, go!
We-ell, we're gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues
I'm gonna shout and a holla and a giggle tonight
I'm gonna shake it just a little in the middle of the night
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli-Vee
Well I think Mr. Cop's on the beat tonight
He's tryin' to put a stop to me tonight
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Oll-olli-olli
We-ell, we're gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues
We-ell, we're gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, well, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues
The lyrics to this song, "Rock Around With Ollie Vee" are an upbeat invitation to dance and forget the troubles of the world. The singer is excited to be joined by a girl named Ollie Vee, who he calls his "little gal". Ollie Vee is from Memphis, Tennessee, and she's going to treat him right tonight. The singer plans to wear his blue suede shoes and rock the night away with Ollie Vee.
The lyrics don't provide much more detail, but the singer seems happy and carefree. He's ready to shout, holler, and giggle as he dances the night away. The only fly in the ointment is the mention of "Mr. Cop" being on the beat tonight. Perhaps the singer is worried about getting into trouble with the law or maybe he just feels like he's being watched.
Overall, this song is a toe-tapping tribute to the joys of dancing, music, and spending time with someone special.
Line by Line Meaning
We-ell, we're gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock 'cause ev'rything's gonna be all right
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues
We are going to dance to the beat of blues music tonight and feel happy and carefree. Tonight is a special night dedicated to having fun, and we are going to dance to the rhythms of the blues music.
Well I got a little gal I call, Ollie Vee
Ollie Vee comes from Memphis, Memphis Tennessee
And tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
I have a girlfriend named Ollie Vee, who is from Memphis. Tonight, we are going to dance and enjoy ourselves together by doing the Rock-a-rock dance.
Ollie Vee says she's gonna treat me right tonight
I'm gonna wear my blue suede shoes tonight
And tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
Ollie Vee promises to treat me well tonight, so I am going to look my best by wearing my blue suede shoes. This way, we can rock and roll while dancing around with Ollie Vee tonight.
I'm gonna shout and a holla and a giggle tonight
I'm gonna shake it just a little in the middle of the night
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli-Vee
I am going to shout, call out, and even laugh loudly tonight. In the middle of the night, I am also going to shake my body a little to the beat of the music. All of this because we're going to dance and have fun with Ollie Vee.
Well I think Mr. Cop's on the beat tonight
He's tryin' to put a stop to me tonight
'Cause tonight, we're gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Oll-olli-olli
I believe that there will be police officers monitoring the area tonight to keep everything under control. However, I am determined to have fun dancing and will not let anything stop us from doing the Rock-a-rock dance with Ollie Vee tonight.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SONNY CURTIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@foggymountainmusic3468
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
@brunoblivious
Upon the death of Jerry Allison today, August 22, 2022, Sonny Curtis, who wrote Rock Around with Ollie Vee, becomes the last living member of the Crickets. Glen Hardin, who was made an honorary member of the Crickets after Buddy's death, is still kicking, but Curtis is the last who played with Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
RIP Jerry Allison and long live Buddy Holly!
@waycnf7229
On my brother's birthday too.
@gregreee
To add to this: Dion was one of the last people to see Buddy Holly alive. Buddy Holly played drums for Dion & the Belmonts during that tour. Dion is still out here, posting new songs on YouTube on a frequent basis ! I’m talking about as recent as like yesterday, and another one just a few days ago, too !
@whitesidewalls
Sonny never played with the Buddy and the Crickets, only with the Crickets without Buddy
@kenhooper4729
Fantastic vocals by Buddy .. he didn’t need much reverb on his voice like the other version .. lovely crystal clear backing … brilliant .. one of my many favourites.. saw Buddy in his 1958 U.K. tour .. wonderful memory of a great rocker 🎶🎸🎼
@gwenwilliamswilliams924
Who’s rocking around to this in 2023?
@BrianMarcus-nz7cs
Jesus 😎
@koko-pu5vn
What a great unique style Buddy Holly had!! Sure wish we had for a longer period of time!!
Thanks for all the great music Buddy!! RIP.
@PeteMitchell_Maverick
Who's rocking out, to this, in 2020?!
@davidnewbold1848
me