Buddy Holly

05/09/22 • 93 min

1 Listener

Icons and Outlaws

Born in Lubbock, Texas, on September 7, 1936, Charles Hardin Holley (he later dropped the "e"), after both grandfathers

the fourth child of Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley and Ella Pauline Drake.

older siblings were Larry, Travis, and Patricia Lou.

nicknamed Buddy from a young age, and it stuck with him throughout his life.

Oddly enough, the newspaper announcement claimed that Buddy was actually a little girl. “A daughter weighing 8.5 lbs”, the Lubbock evening journal wrote. He was also only 6.5 pounds. And a boy.

Buddy’s family was mainly of English and Welsh descent and had some native American ancestry. During the Great Depression, the Holleys frequently moved residences within Lubbock; 17 in all.

His father changed jobs several times.

The Holley family were a musical household.

Except for Buddy's father, all family members could play an instrument or sing. His older brothers frequently entered local talent shows, and one time, his brothers signed up and Buddy wanted to play violin with them. However, Buddy couldn't play the violin.

Not wanting to break little Buddy's heart, his older brothers greased up the strings so it wouldn't make a sound. Buddy started singing his heart out and the three ended up winning the contest!

When WWII started, the U.S. government called his brothers into service. His brother Larry brought back a guitar he bought from a shipmate, and that guitar set Buddy's off. At 11 years old, Buddy started taking piano lessons.

Nine months later, he quit piano lessons and switched to guitar after seeing a classmate playing and singing on the school bus.

His parents initially bought him a steel guitar, but Buddy insisted he wanted a guitar like his brothers. They bought him a guitar, a gold top Gibson acoustic, from a pawn shop, and his brother Travis taught him to play it.

By 15, Buddy was proficient on guitar, banjo, and mandolin. During his early childhood, Holley was influenced by Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow, Bob Wills, and the Carter Family.

He started writing songs and working with his childhood friend Bob Montgomery. The two jammed together, practicing songs by the Louvin Brothers and Johnnie & Jack. They frequently listened to Grand Ole Opry's radio programs on WSM, Louisiana Hayride on KWKH (which they once drove 600 miles to okay just to be turned away), and Big D Jamboree.

If you're not familiar with the Grand Ol Opry, it’s a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on Clearchannel's WSM, which first hit the airwaves on October 5, 1925. Its the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history.

At the same time he was practicing with Bob, Holley played with other musicians he met in high school, including Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison.

In 1952 Holley and Jack Neal participated as a duo billed as "Buddy and Jack" in a talent contest on a local television show.

After Neal left, he was replaced by his buddy Bob, and they were billed as "Buddy and Bob." By the mid-'50s, Buddy & Bob played their style of music called "western and bop ."

Holley was influenced by late-night radio stations that played the blues and rhythm and blues. Holley would sit in his car with Sonny Curtis and tune to distant “black” radio stations that could only be received at night when bigger stations turned off local transmissions.

Holley then changed his music by blending his earlier country and western influence with Rhythm and Blues. After seeing the legendary Elvis perform, Holly decided to pursue his career in music full-time once he graduated high school. By mid-1955, Buddy & Bob, who already worked with an upright bass player (played by Larry Welborn), added drummer Jerry Allison to their lineup. After seeing Elvis Presley performing live in Lubbock, who Pappy Dave Stone of KDAV booked, Buddy really wanted to get after it. In February, he opened for Elvis at the Fair Park Coliseum, in April at the Cotton Club, then again in June at the Coliseum. Elvis significantly influenced the group to turn more towards Rock n Roll. Buddy and the king became friends, with Buddy even driving Elvis around when he was in town.

Eventually, Bob Montgomery, who leaned toward a traditional country sound, left the group, though they continued writing and composing songs together. Holly kept pushing his music toward a straight-ahead rock & roll sound, working with Allison, Welborn, and other local musicians, including his pal and guitarist Sonny Curtis and bassist Don Guess.

In October, Holly was booked as the opener for Bill Haley & His Comets (Rock Around the Clock), to be seen by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall. Obviously impressed, Eddie Crandall talked Grand Ole Opry manager Jim Denny into finding a recording...

Born in Lubbock, Texas, on September 7, 1936, Charles Hardin Holley (he later dropped the "e"), after both grandfathers

the fourth child of Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley and Ella Pauline Drake.

older siblings were Larry, Travis, and Patricia Lou.

nicknamed Buddy from a young age, and it stuck with him throughout his life.

Oddly enough, the newspaper announcement claimed that Buddy was actually a little girl. “A daughter weighing 8.5 lbs”, the Lubbock evening journal wrote. He was also only 6.5 pounds. And a boy.

Buddy’s family was mainly of English and Welsh descent and had some native American ancestry. During the Great Depression, the Holleys frequently moved residences within Lubbock; 17 in all.

His father changed jobs several times.

The Holley family were a musical household.

Not wanting to break little Buddy's heart, his older brothers greased up the strings so it wouldn't make a sound. Buddy started singing his heart out and the three ended up winning the contest!

Nine months later, he quit piano lessons and switched to guitar after seeing a classmate playing and singing on the school bus.

By 15, Buddy was proficient on guitar, banjo, and mandolin. During his early childhood, Holley was influenced by Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow, Bob Wills, and the Carter Family.

At the same time he was practicing with Bob, Holley played with other musicians he met in high school, including Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison.

In 1952 Holley and Jack Neal participated as a duo billed as "Buddy and Jack" in a talent contest on a local television show.

After Neal left, he was replaced by his buddy Bob, and they were billed as "Buddy and Bob." By the mid-'50s, Buddy & Bob played their style of music called "western and bop ."

Previous Episode

Stone Temple Pilots

Stone Temple Pilots.

There are two conflicting stories of how frontman Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo actually met; one was that Weiland and DeLeo met at a punk rock icon Black Flag concert in Long Beach, California, in 1985.

They started chit-chatting, discussing their girlfriends, only to realize they were dating the same woman. However, instead of having some beef and fighting over her, they became friends and formed a band after breaking it off with the girl. On the other hand, Weiland had a different version of meeting Deleo, written in his autobiography. The way he tells it, he and his current band Soi Disant, guitarist Corey Hicock, and drummer David Allin pursued DeLeo after watching him play live at different gigs.

Initially calling themselves "Swing," Allin left to pursue other interests after a few years. The remaining members watched drummer Eric Kretz play in a Long Beach club and convinced him to join the band. Guitarist Hicock eventually left the band in 1989; in need of a replacement and auditioning many guitarists, Robert suggested his older brother, Dean DeLeo. He and his brother were born in Montclaire, New Jersey). At the time, Dean was a successful businessman who did what many musicians do and had decided to leave music behind to find a "real job." The band convinced Dean to play for Swing, completing the original STP lineup. Dean hated the name and refused to continue playing in a band called "Swing," changing the name to "Mighty Joe Young," which was a B Movie from the 1940s. They recorded a demo tape around 1990. That demo would have tracks that would go on to be re-recorded for the band's first studio album, "Core," as well as some different styles that wouldn't show up again, like some funk and yodeling. Yes, Yodeling.

Mighty Joe Young played a few gigs in the San Diego area, gradually building a fanbase. Their first show supported Henry Rollins (Formerly of that band Black Flag we mentioned earlier) at the world-famous Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, CA. The group then began working on their debut album with first-time producer and mixer Brendan O'Brien, the guy who's worked with future Icons and Outlaws subjects, AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Rage Against the Machine, and Bruce Springsteen. Definitely a big deal. One day while recording, they received a call from their lawyer. He informed them that a blues player out of Chicago had already claimed the name Mighty Joe Young and they obviously didn't want to get sued for trademark infringement. So, rumor has it that they were inspired by the STP Motor Oil stickers they loved as kids. Various ideas on the initials "STP" were bounced back and forth, like "Shirley Temple's Pussy" and "Stereo Temple Pirates" before they settled on the name "Stone Temple Pilots."

STP built up their fan base in the San Diego clubs and in 1992 signed a deal with Atlantic Records, who had just released White Lion's "Main Attraction," Rush's "Roll The Bones," and Genesis' "We Can't Dance" the previous year. STP's first album, Core, was released on September 29, 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Albums Chart. Core was a big success, producing hits "Sex Type Thing," "Plush," (which was rumored to have been written while Eric and Scott were in a Jacuzzi) "Creep," and "Wicked Garden." The debut album was a major commercial success; however, some press called the band "grunge imitators." The name of the album, "Core," refers to the apple in the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. It was recorded in only five weeks! Weiland has said that the album's central theme is that humanity is confused, with songs like "Sex Type Thing" (which is an anti date rape song and written after a woman that Weiland was deeply in love with was raped by 3 football players after a drunken high school party). Whereas "Naked Sunday" dealt with social injustice. "Sex Type Thing," according to Weiland, deals with abuse of power, "macho" behavior, and humanity's attitude toward women, treating them as sex objects. Also, "Naked Sunday" "is about organized religion. "About people who tell others what to do and what to believe. They switch off people's minds and control the masses." He goes on to say, "It gives me a feeling of isolation when I think about it. Organized religion does not view everyone as equals." Weiland says about his lyrics on "Core":

"I feel very strongly that all individuals, regardless of age, race, creed, or sexual preference, should have the freedom to exercise their rights as human beings to enjoy life, pursue what they want, and feel comfortable about who they are. I guess I tend to find the darker sides of life more attractive than the yellows and oranges. I know it's something that I relate to when I listen to music."

According to Weiland, "Wicked Garden" 's lyrics deal with the loss of innocence and purity, while "Sin" addresses "violent and ugly" relationships.

Also, the...

Next Episode

JAY-Z

JAY-Z, was born Shawn Corey Carter, on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, here in the U.S..

He grew up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood, which was pretty rough at the time, where he was raised mainly by his mother, Gloria Carter, who says Shawn used to wake up the household at night, banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table.

His mother bought him his first boombox for his birthday, which set him off on his love of music.

Shawn’s father, Adnis Reeves bailed out on his family, including Shawn’s three siblings, at a young age but they rekindled their relationship right before Adnis passed away.

Shawn has said, through his lyrics, that when he was younger he had once shot his older drug addicted brother, Eric, in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry.

While in the 6th grade, Jay tested at a 12th grade reading level.

Shawn went to Eli Whitney high school in Brooklyn, along with AZ, the longtime friend and co collaborator of Nas and The Firm, who has been revered as “one of the most underrated lyricists of our time.”

After the closing of his high school, Shawn attended the George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School. There, he would be amongst future Icons and Outlaws alumni Busta Rhymes and Biggie Smalls, the one and only Notorious B.I.G.

Shawn then attended Trenton Central High School, shortly, before dropping out.

He claims to have been selling crack at this time and was even shot at three times.

His firsthand experience with illicit drug dealing would form his lyrics when he began rapping under the stage name Jazzy, soon shortened to Jay-Z (a name that may also have been derived from the proximity of the J and Z subway lines to the Marcy Projects or possibly an Homage to his rapping mentor, Jaz-O).

He lived in London in 1989 for a short time. JAY recorded music with Monie Love and soaked in the culture, before moving back to the States.

You can hear Jay on some of Jaz-O’s earlier recordings from the 80’s and 90’s, like “H.P. Gets Busy”, “Hawaiian Sofie” and “The Originators.”

In the early 90’s, Jay-Z found himself involved in rap battles with LL Cool J, who eventually had a falling out while they were both involved at Def Jam. They’ve resolved their differences since then.

Big Daddy Kane’s 1994 album, “Daddy’s Home”, introduced the world to Jay in the song “Show and Prove”, a posse cut that had multiple rappers doing verses on one track.

Big Daddy Kane has said in regards to Jay being referred to as his “hype man,”

“When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K (“I Got A Man”) and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage.”

Jay then found himself appearing on Big L’s “Da Graveyard” and alongside young versions of DMX and Ja Rule (Holla Holla) in 1995.

1995 also saw Jay’s first official single, “In My Lifetime” that had a music video as well as an unreleased video for the song’s B-Side, “I Can’t Get With that.”

What do you do when you want to get your music out but have no financial backing from a record label? You get out and hustle your album yourself. Jay Z would spend hours a day selling CD’s out of his car.

Tired of not getting where he wanted to be in the music world, Jay-Z and two friends, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke, founded their own company and independent record label, Roc-A-Fella Records, in 1995 to release his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996). It eventually sold more than a million copies in the United States, certifying it platinum and hes been revered as “one of the greatest rap albums ever” and, arguably, “Jay-Z’s best work.”

This album featured beats by renowned producers like DJ Premier and DJ Clark Kent and even had very early appearances from the Notorious B.I.G. and the queen, Mary J Blige.

Reasonable Doubt debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 18 weeks.

The four singles from this album were “Dead Presidents”, “Ain’t No N Word”, “Can’t Knock the Hustle”, and “Feelin It”. It would later make Rolling Stone’s Magazines “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

A string of successful albums followed at a rate of at least one per year through 2003. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998) was not only one of the first of Jay-Z’s releases to top the Billboard 200 album chart but also won him his first Grammy Award, for best rap album.

This record saw Jay relying more on “wordplay and flow” and featured beats by DJ Premier, Erick Sermon from future Icons, EPMD, Kid Capri and Swizz Beatz, who was a producer for DMX and the record label, Ruff Ryders as well as Timbaland.

Singles from this album included “Can I Get A..”, featuring Ja Rule and Amil, as well as several other head bobbin’ bangers.

Vol. 2 would go on to sell over 5 million copies.

Remember how we said he won a gram...