Buddy Holly: A Biography

by Ellis Amburn

Book Overview

The tragic, bittersweet story of the founder of rock 'n' roll, Buddy Holly presents the most revealing and enduring biography yet of one of America's greatest music heroes. "In illuminating the scope... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312134460
• ISBN13: 9780312134464
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.8" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Warts and all, this is Buddy

A very well-written book, meticulously researched, and logically paced. OF COURSE, Buddy's sex life needs to be discussed to fully understand one of the roots of his brilliance. For anyone who has ever pondered the origin of the words "rock 'n' roll," it should be obvious why some of these details are included. (If you want a pious, fictionalized recollection, go watch "The Buddy Holly Story.")If your perception of Buddy was that of a nerdy, goody two-shoes hillbilly who hiccuped his way through a few catchy songs, you're about to have a wake-up call. Ambrose's portrait of Buddy as an explosively confident creative visionary and street-wise "ladies' man" makes for a fascinating and entertaining read.

A Strong Five Star Book

This book brought back a lot of musical memories from the late 1950's and provided a lot of information regarding this period of time. The fame that went with being a rock and roll star was not all that it was cracked up to be. Buddy's home town of Lubbock, Texas, didn't really appreciate the fact that they had a well known celebrity in their midst. In addition, there are stories about other rock stars such as Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen. An interesting story of Buddy's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show regarding his singing the controversial song "Oh Boy" is told. Norman Petty was the one who controlled Buddy Holly's money and this made it difficult for Buddy to even buy groceries for himself and his wife. While Buddy and his wife were living in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1959 it was his wife's aunt who supported them. This lack of money was the reason Buddy decided to go on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party through the upper midwest that began in January of 1959. This turned into a poorly put together affair by GAC, General Artists Corporation, which provided a poorly equipped bus in which to travel. It was this constant travel in a freezing bus with a bad engine and a concert to give every night in a different town that led to using a chartered airplane. Ironically, February 2nd was supposed to be their only day off during this Winter Dance Party, but GAC then scheduled them to appear in Mason City, Iowa, for that night shortly before this date. Buddy decided to hire a chartered airplane to fly he and his band members, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup, to Moorhead, Minnnesota, so they could get some rest while the others took the bus. J. P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, was ill with the flu and he wanted to fly ahead, so he took Waylon Jennings place on the plane. Ritchie Valens also hoped to fly ahead and he and Allsup flipped a coin to see who would fly as the third passenger. Valens "won" the flip. The pilot of the airplane, Roger Peterson, wasn't fully qualified to fly the plane, but he didn't want to pass up a chance to fly the three stars. Peterson's mother blamed the rock stars for her son's death by saying that if they had not wanted to take a plane, her son would not have died. Despite the loss of these three members of the group, the remaining members including Dion and the Belmonts, had to complete the tour which ended in mid-February. Bobby Vee was a high school student in Moorhead, Minnesota, and he volunteered to help fill in for this next concert. Some careers start in strange ways. Following Buddy's death, his parents would make a few trips to Mason City to see where their son last performed. A person's life is not measured in how many years they live. Buddy's was a short one, but he did leave a lasting impact on a generation of his fans and influenced a number of singers who became popular after he died. There are a number of other interesting stories in this

Great book!!

The true story of Buddy Holly told by his friends,family,wife and fans. I loved this book i hope you do too! This book traces Buddy's career from the day he was born to the day he died (and after). This is the best book on Buddy Holly i've read (i am a huge Buddy Holly fan). So,if you want to know about Buddy Holly this book is for you!!!!