Penned by Allan James, this musical recaps the meteoric career of ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Buddy Holly (pictured). Born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas in 1936, he showed a talent for music at a young age, and was inspired to shift from bluegrass and country to rock ‘n’ roll after opening first for Elvis Presley, then Bill Halley & the Comets, when they made stops in Lubbock in 1955.
We all know how his life ended. But before that fateful day in 1959, there were plenty of twists and turns. From May 23-July 1, the Globe Theatre will be presenting the musical which documents them. For ticket info call 525-6400.
And to whet your appetite, here’s some video from the late ’50s of Buddy Holly & the Crickets performing “O Boy” on the Ed Sullivan show.
Sef Woods, playing Buddy in the Globe’s production, is absolutely brilliant!
Buddy Holly woulda changed Woodstock. He woulda been brilliant there. Slightly shaggier, older, wee bit more psychedelic sounding…someone oughta write a play about Buddy Holly in the ’60s. Have him tragically pass away in a Dec 31, 1969 train crash. Buddy in the ’70s woulda been excessive.
I think Buddy would have pioneered everything from Gram Parsons to Tim Buckley to Allman Brothers to Stephen Malkmus ethic and sound well before any of them got there. Could Bob Dylan have happened had Bob lived in Holly’s still-living shadow? Hmmm. Unlike a lot of 50s artists who faded by ’62, I think Holly woulda innovated like no one else and probably would have avoided gospel.
#2,3 It woulda been Buddy vs. Robert Fripp / Jimi Hendrix / Steve Howe / Tony Iommi..