Bloody hell, was it that long ago? Big Boppa and Ricthie Valens died in the same air crash (or didn't, if you believe some of the conspiracy theorists)
Bobby Vee stood in for Buddy Holly at the gig he was supposed to play, and another star was born.
Not a huge musical fan but I have seen the musical "Buddy" twice and it was superb. He achieved a lot in an incredibly short time period and at a very young age.
Died way too soon did young Mr Holly, he would have gone onto be a leading figure if he had not died in the musical world, maybe bigger than Elvis. he had already moved on from his western swing, rockabilly and into ballads with orchestras and ground breaking string arrangements, such a shame.
A couple of years before I was born actually, but my Dad was a big fan of his and was constanly playing his music, along with the Everley Brothers, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran etc hence I also became a fan of Mr H.
So many groups/musicians were influenced by Buddy Holly and the Crickets or by those that were in turn influenced by them. The Beatles were so named because, allegedly, they wanted a name similar to the Crickets. The Hollies also took their name from him as a tribute.
Incredible the number of songs he wrote in such a short space of time