Equally inspired by classic tunesmiths like Buddy Holly and John Lennon as well as the attitude and angular riffs of fellow New Yorkers Television and the Velvet Underground, the Strokes were also equally blessed and cursed with an enormous amount of hype -- particularly from the U.K. music press, whose adulation for the group rivaled their fervor for Oasis in the early '90s. Barely in their twenties by the time their debut album, Is This It, arrived in 2001, singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti's success wasn't quite of the overnight variety, but it still arrived pretty swiftly.

Casablancas (the son of Elite Model Agency Group kingpin John Casablancas), Moretti (who began playing drums at age five), and Valensi started playing together in 1998 while they attended the Dwight School, a private prep school in Manhattan. Soon thereafter they met Fraiture, who attended the Upper East Side's Lycee Français, and added him to their ranks. Hammond (the son of singer/songwriter Albert Hammond, whose songs include "It Never Rains in Southern California," "When I Need You," and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before") came from Los Angeles to attend film school at NYU and was invited into the band by Casablancas; the two met at L'Institut le Rosey in Switzerland when they were kids.

Casablancas officially christened the quintet the Strokes in 1999, and the group spent most of that year writing and rehearsing material in New York City's Music Building. They made their live debut that fall at the Spiral, and word of mouth about the Strokes' incendiary live show propelled them to gigs at venues like Under the Acme, Lower East Side clubs such as Arlene Grocery, Baby Jupiter, and Luna. The Strokes' December 2000 dates at the Mercury Lounge and the Bowery Ballroom not only gained them a manager (Ryan Gentles, who booked them at those clubs), but also helped Strokes mania reach critical mass in New York. Rough Trade released the group's three-song demo as The Modern Age EP in January 2001, which sparked a bidding war from which RCA emerged as the victors.

Meanwhile, the Strokes' acclaim reached the U.K. and grew to massive proportions over the course of the year. NME quickly became their champions, profiling them several times that spring and summer as the Strokes' live act and singles like Hard to Explain (which debuted at number 16 in the U.K. charts) won them a rabid British following. That spring, the band also completed its first U.S. tour as the opening act for the Doves and proceeded to play dates with Guided by Voices and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead in the U.S. and the U.K. The group's popularity continued to snowball in the U.K., with a side-stage slot at the NME Carling Weekender changed to a main-stage performance for fear of people trampling each other to see the band.

In late summer of that year, Rough Trade released Is This It with an album cover featuring a sexy, Helmut Newton-esque photo of a woman's nude behind and hip with a leather-gloved hand resting on it; the U.K. chains Woolworth's and HMV objected to its controversial nature. The U.S. version of Is This It was released in October and featured a few changes from the U.K. edition. The Strokes opted for an abstract pattern on the cover and removed the song "New York City Cops," feeling the song was inappropriate in the wake of the terrorist attacks that struck New York prior to the album's release; the planned B-side, "When It Started," took its place. The group closed out the fall with an extended tour of the U.S., culminating with a Halloween gig at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.

The remainder of 2001 and 2002 saw the group's profile continue to rise. Is This It and the Strokes were lauded in many ways, ranging from This Isn't It, an EP of instrumental versions of some of the album's songs performed by a mystery band called the Diff'rent Strokes (Pulp's Jarvis Cocker was rumored to be a member) to 2001 NME Carling Awards for Best New Act, Band of the Year, and Album of the Year. The band toured extensively throughout 2002, including a series of dates that summer in New York and Detroit with the White Stripes, summer festivals at Reading and Leeds, and a string of gigs supporting Weezer, some of which were canceled due to a leg injury Casablancas suffered. During these shows, their fall tour, and their dates opening for the Rolling Stones, the Strokes debuted some new songs, including "Meet Me in the Bathroom," "You Talk Way Too Much," and "The Way It Is."

By March 2003, the band was ready to start recording its new album, but instead of working with Is This It producer Gordon Raphael as previously reported, the Strokes began recording with Nigel Godrich of Radiohead and Beck fame. That May, however, the Strokes' sessions with Godrich came to an end, and they returned to Raphael to finish the album, Room on Fire. The single 12:51 introduced the more meticulous, new wave-inspired sound of Room on Fire, which arrived in fall 2003. Just before the album's release, the Strokes hit the road once again, taking Kings of Leon with them. Early in 2006, they returned with the even poppier and more polished First Impressions of Earth. ~ All Music Guide

For the Record...
Members include Julian Casablancas, vocals; Nikolai Fraiture, bass; Albert Hammond, Jr., guitar; Fabrizio Moretti, drums; Nick Valensi, guitar; Group formed in New York City, 1998; released EP, The Modern Age on Beggars Banquet, 2001; signed to RCA Records, 2001; released full-length LP, Is This It, October 2001. Addresses: Record companyCA Records, 1540 Broadway, # 900, New York, NY 10036. Websitehe Strokes Official Website: http://www.thestrokes.com.

Albums:
Is This It, Rough Trade, RCA, 2001.
Room on Fire, Rough Trade, RCA, 2003.
First Impressions of Earth, Rough Trade, RCA, 2006.
Angles, Rough Trade, RCA, 2011.
 

Sources: Heather Phares; Carol Brennan

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Legendary as one of the three rock greats to die in the tragic 1959 Clear Lake, IA, plane crash that also claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (born Jiles Perry Richardson) had just established himself as a rock hit-maker with the rollicking "Chantilly Lace."

Born in the heart of Texas, Richardson grew up in Beaumont and changed his first name to Jape. He broke into show biz as a DJ over at KTRM radio, where he coined the nickname the Big Bopper.

In March 1955, he was drafted into the United States Army and did his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He spent the rest of his two years service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas. Following his discharge as a corporal in March 1957, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen the college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3 to 6 p.m. Richardson soon became the station's program director.

In May 1957, he broke the record for continuous on-the-air broadcasting by eight minutes. From a remote set-up in the lobby of the Jefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont, Richardson performed for a total of five days, two hours and eight minutes, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during five-minute newscasts. Richardson is credited with coining the term music video in 1959, and recorded an early example himself.

Richardson - who played guitar - began his musical career as a songwriter. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones' first #1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, his friend from Port Arthur, Texas. The inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of the Sabine River, where he heard stories about Indian tribes.

Richardson sang background on "Running Bear", but the recording wasn't released until September 1959, after his death. Within several months it became #1.

The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold “Pappy” Daily from Houston, Texas. Daily was promotion director for Mercury and Starday Records and signed Richardson to Mercury. Richardson's first single, "Beggar To A King", had a country flavour, but failed to gain any chart action. He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label. Mercury bought the recording and released it in the summer of 1958. It reached #6 on the pop charts and spent 22 weeks in the national Top 40.

It also inspired an answer record by Jayne Mansfield titled "That Makes It". In "Chantilly Lace", Richardson pretends to have a flirting phone conversation with his girlfriend; the Mansfield record suggests what his girlfriend might have been saying at the other end of the line.

Later that year, he scored a second hit, a raucous novelty tune entitled "The Big Bopper's Wedding", in which Richardson pretends to be getting cold feet at the altar. He was known for his "Hello Baby!"

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With the success of "Chantilly Lace", Richardson took time off from KTRM radio and joined Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Dion and the Belmonts for a "Winter Dance Party" tour. On the eleventh night of the tour, Holly chartered an airplane to fly them to the next show in Moorhead, Minnesota.

The musicians had been travelling by bus for over a week, and it had already broken down once. They were tired, they had not been paid yet and all of their clothes were dirty. With the airplane, Holly could arrive early, do everyone's laundry and catch up on some rest.

A 21-year old pilot named Roger Peterson had agreed to take the singers to Fargo, North Dakota, where the airport serves the twin cities of Moorhead and Fargo. A snowstorm was on its way and the young pilot was fatigued from a 17-hour workday, but he agreed to fly the trip.

The musicians packed up their instruments and finalized the flight arrangements. Buddy Holly's bass player, Waylon Jennings, was scheduled to fly on the plane, but gave his seat up to the Big Bopper, who was suffering from influenza. Holly's guitarist, Tommy Allsup, agreed to flip a coin with Ritchie Valens for the remaining seat; Valens won.

The three musicians boarded the red and white single-engine Beech Bonanza around 12:30 am on February 3. The musicians waved and then climbed onto the plane. Snow blew across the runway, but the sky was clear. Peterson received clearance from the control tower, taxied down the runway and took off.

He was never told of two different weather advisories that warned of an oncoming blizzard ahead. The plane stayed in the sky for only a few minutes; no one is quite sure what went wrong. The best guess is Peterson flew directly into the blizzard, lost visual reference and accidentally flew down instead of up.

The four-passenger plane ploughed into a nearby cornfield at over 170 mph, flipping over on itself and tossing the passengers into the air. Their bodies landed yards away from the wreckage and stayed there for ten hours as snowdrifts formed around them. Because of the weather, nobody could reach the crash site until later in the morning.

Albums:

Sources: http://www.artistdirect.com/ http://www.wikipedia.org/

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Somehow, time has not accorded Eddie Cochran quite the same respect as other early rockabilly pioneers like Buddy Holly, or even Ricky Nelson or Gene Vincent. This is partially attributable to his very brief lifespan as a star: he only had a couple of big hits before dying in a car crash during a British tour in 1960. He was in the same league as the best rockabilly stars, though, with a brash, fat guitar sound that helped lay the groundwork for the power chord. He was also a good songwriter and singer, celebrating the joys of teenage life -- the parties, the music, the adolescent rebellion -- with an economic wit that bore some similarities to Chuck Berry. Cochran was more lighthearted and less ironic than Berry, though, and if his work was less consistent and not as penetrating, it was almost always exuberant.

Cochran's mid-'50s beginnings in the record industry are a bit confusing. His family had moved to Southern California around 1950, and in 1955 he made his first recordings as half of the Cochran Brothers. Here's the confusing part: although the other half of the act was really named Hank Cochran, he was not Eddie's brother. (Hank Cochran would become a noted country songwriter in the 1960s.) Eddie was already an accomplished rockabilly guitarist and singer on these early sides, and he started picking up some session work as well, also finding time to make demos and write songs with Jerry Capehart, who became his manager.

Cochran's big break came about in a novel fashion. In mid-1956, while Cochran and Capehart were recording some music for low-budget films, Boris Petroff asked Eddie if he'd be interested in appearing in a movie that a friend was directing. The film was The Girl Can't Help It, and the song he would sing in it was "Twenty-Flight Rock." This is the same song that Paul McCartney would use to impress John Lennon upon their first meeting in 1957 (Paul could not only play it, but knew all of the lyrics).

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Cochran had his first Top 20 hit in early 1957, "Sittin' in the Balcony," with an echo-chambered vocal reminiscent of Elvis. That single was written by John D. Loudermilk, but Eddie would write much of his material, including his only Top Ten hit, "Summertime Blues." A definitive teenage anthem with hints of the overt protest that would seep into rock music in the 1960s, it was also a technical tour de force for the time: Cochran overdubbed himself on guitar to create an especially thick sound. One of the classic early rock singles, "Summertime Blues" was revived a decade later by proto-metal group Blue Cheer, and was a concert staple for The Who, who had a small American hit with a cover version. (Let's not mention Alan Jackson's country rendition in the 1990s.)

That, disappointingly, was the extent of Cochran's major commercial success in the U.S. "C'mon Everybody," a chugging rocker that was almost as good as "Summertime Blues," made the Top 40 in 1959, and also gave Eddie his first British Top Tenner. As is the case with his buddy Gene Vincent, though, you can't judge his importance by mere chart statistics. Cochran was very active in the studio, and while his output wasn't nearly as consistent as Buddy Holly's (another good friend of Eddie's), he laid down a few classic or near-classic cuts that are just as worthy as his hits. "Somethin' Else," "My Way" (which The Who played in concert at the peak of psychedelia), "Weekend" (covered by the Move), and "Nervous Breakdown" are some of the best of these, and belong in the collection of every rockabilly fan. He was also (like Holly) an innovator in the studio, using overdubbing at a time when that practice was barely known on rock recordings.

Cochran is more revered today in Britain than the United States, due in part to the tragic circumstances of his death. In the spring of 1960, he toured the U.K. with Vincent, to a wild reception, in a country that had rarely had the opportunity to see American rock & roll stars in the flesh. En route to London to fly back to the States for a break, the car Cochran was riding in, with his girlfriend (and songwriter) Sharon Sheeley and Gene Vincent, had a severe accident. Vincent and Sheeley survived, but Cochran died less than a day later, at the age of 21.

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As lead guitarist for The Beatles, George Harrison provided the band with a lyrical style of playing in which every note mattered. Harrison was one of millions of young Britons inspired to take up the guitar by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan's recording of "Rock Island Line". But he had more dedication than most, and with the encouragement of a slightly older school friend, Paul McCartney, he advanced quickly in his technique and command of the instrument. Harrison developed his style and technique slowly and painstakingly over the several years, learning everything he could from the records of Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran. By age 15, he was allowed to sit in with the Quarry Men, the Liverpool group founded by John Lennon, of which McCartney was a member; by 16, he was a full-fledged member of the group.

The Beatles finally coalesced around Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr in 1962, with Harrison established on lead guitar. The Beatlemania years, from 1963 through 1966, were a mixed blessing for Harrison. The Beatles' studio sound was generally characterized by very prominent rhythm guitar parts, and on many of The Beatles' early songs, Harrison's lead guitar was buried beneath the chiming chords of Lennon's instrument. Additionally, he was thwarted as a songwriter by the presence of Lennon and McCartney; the quality and proliferation of their output left very little room on the group's albums for songs by anyone else. Despite these problems, Harrison grew markedly as a musician between 1963 and 1966, writing a handful of good songs and one classic ("If I Needed Someone"), and also making his first acquaintance of the sitar, an Indian instrument whose sound fascinated him.

In 1966, Harrison finally seemed to find his voice with two of his songs on the Revolver album, "Taxman" and "Love You Too". In the wake of the group's decision to stop touring, Harrison's playing and songwriting grew exponentially. The period from 1968 onward was Harrison's richest with The Beatles. He displayed a smooth, elegant slide guitar technique that showed up on their last three albums; and he contributed two classic songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes the Sun", along with "Something", which became the first Harrison song on the A-side of a Beatles single.

Although never known as a strong singer, Harrison's vocals were always distinctive, especially when placed in the right setting; for his first solo record following the group's 1970 breakup, All Things Must Pass, Harrison collaborated with producer Phil Spector, whose so-called "Wall of Sound" technique adapted well to Harrison's voice. All Things Must Pass and the accompanying single "My Sweet Lord" had the distinction of being the first solo recordings by any of The Beatles to top the charts following their breakup. Unfortunately, Harrison was later successfully sued by the publisher of the 1962 Chiffons hit "He's So Fine", which bore a striking resemblance to "My Sweet Lord".

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Harrison followed All Things Must Pass with rock's first major charity event, The Concert for Bangladesh, which was staged as two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1971 to help raise money for aid to that famine-ravaged nation. The second of the two all-star shows was released as a movie and a live triple album. Harrison's next studio album, Living in the Material World, initially sold well, but its leaner, less opulent production lacked the majestic force of All Things Must Pass, and it lacked the earlier album's mass appeal. Subsequent Harrison albums from the 1970s into the '80s always had an audience, but, except for Somewhere in England (1981), released in the wake of the murder of John Lennon with the memorial song "All Those Years Ago", none seemed terribly well crafted or executed. During this same period, Harrison embarked on a successful career as a movie producer with the founding of Handmade Films.

In 1987, Harrison made a return to the top of the charts with his album Cloud Nine, which featured his most inspired work in years, most notably a cover of an old Rudy Clark gospel number called "Got My Mind Set on You", which reached number one on the charts. In 1988, Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison formed The Traveling Wilburys, who released two very successful albums. It was also around this time that Harrison appeared with his former bandmate Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds, Rosanne Cash, and The Stray Cats' Lee Rocker (who was born the year The Beatles made their first recordings) in a superb live-in-front-of-the-cameras rockabilly performance accompanying Harrison's one-time idol Carl Perkins; which was subsequently released on video cassette and laser disc. All of this success heralded a short-lived re-emergence for the musician out of private life, resulting in a 1991 tour of Japan that yielded a live album (Live in Japan). Harrison had hated concertizing since the harrowing days of The Beatles' international career, and had done one poorly received concert tour in the mid-'70s; he seemed more comfortable in 1991, and the album performed moderately well, driven by the presence of his then-recent hits.

He withdrew into private life after that, devoting himself to his life with his second wife and their son, and only re-emerged before the public when necessary, such as defending The Beatles' copyrights in court cases.

In 1999, Harrison was assaulted in his home and seriously injured by a deranged fan, but he recovered and in 2000 he began work on remastering and expanding his classic All Things Must Pass album. The reissue of that album at the outset of 2001 heralded an unusually public publicity campaign by Harrison, who accompanied its re-release with an interview record that anticipated the eventual reissue of the rest of his catalog. Harrison had been treated for throat cancer in the late '90s, but in 2001 it was revealed that he was suffering from an inoperable form of brain cancer. At the time of his death on November 29, 2001, The Concert for Bangladesh album had been announced for upgraded reissue in January of 2002, and a DVD of the film was in release internationally. If you've never seen Concert For George do check it out we consider it the best concert DVD ever !

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Spanning nearly 20 years, the geek rock outfit Weezer formed in 1992 are well known for their wacky videos and their fun songs, however they initially got together to play songs from their favourite artists such as The Pixies, Nirvana and Cheap Trick. The band was formed by Rivers Cuomo (lead singer, guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Matt Sharpe (bass, backing vocals) and Jason Cropper (guitar, backing vocals).

The band initially played in bars and clubs across L.A. with covers of their favourite artists mixed in with some of their own music. Through these performances, Interscope signed the band in 1992 before releasing their first record in 1994. Before recording their first album, Jason Cropper left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Brian Bell.

Weezer’s self titled album, later to be called 'The Blue Album', included their first single ‘Undone- The Sweater Song’. The song was not due for release until clubs around California enjoyed the song immensely popularity of the band grew. Spike Jonze directed the video for Weezer’s first two singles. Where ‘Undone- The Sweater Song’ saw success, it was not as innovative as the second video for the second single ‘Buddy Holly’. The video featured Weezer playing a gig in the Happy Days café. The video saw Weezer win four MTV video awards including best break-through act, best video and two billboard music video awards. Other songs released from the three time platinum album include ‘Say It Ain’t So’ and ‘My Name Is Jonas’.

The second album entitled ‘Pinkerton’ was commercially a flop. Upon its release in 1996, their fans were expecting the same fun style of music as they got from 'The Blue Album', instead the album featured a darker feel. That year saw many regarding the album as the worst album of the year. Today however, many fans regard the record being Weezers best and Rolling Stone magazine have changed their initial one star rating to five stars which meant the album being placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The band took a break after their tour in 1997 to pursue personal conquests. They all returned a year later to work on their new album apart from Matt Sharpe who was replaced by Mikey Walsh. Before the release of their next album, they toured across America which featured 14 new songs. These songs were not to be released to the disappointment to the fans. Weezer released the record ‘The Green Album’ in 2001 which attracted a new generation of fans with a mix of heavy, fun and soft rock sounds. Mikey Walsh was inducted to a psychiatric hospital and was replaced by Scott Shriner.

‘Maladroit’ was Weezers fifth album and featured a harder pop influence to its predecessors with a 80s guitar sound. The record included two singles ‘Dope Nose’ and ‘Keep Fishin’. The music video for ‘Keep Fishin’ featured the Muppets. ‘Maladroit’ remains the bands least successful album. In 2005, Weezer released their next album ‘Make Believe’ which featured the hit single ‘Beverly Hills’. The video for the song was filmed in the playboy mansion that helped the song secure the bands first US number one. The song was nominated for a grammy for best rock song and the video was nominated for best video at the MTV Video Music Awards. Their second US number one came from the single ‘Perfect Situation’. Weezer toured with Foo Fighters that year which was awarded Most Creative Tour Package at the Concert Industry Awards.

2008 saw Weezer release their sixth album in the shape of ‘The Red Album’. The debut single from the album, ‘Pork and Beans’ included the most popular downloaded stars from YouTube star in the video. The song reached number one the American rock chart and the band received a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. Other singles where ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘The Greatest Man That Ever Lived’.

The seventh album ‘Ratitude’ saw the likes of Lil’ Wayne collaborate with the band. With the help of Lil Wayne and the producer Jacknife Lee, ‘Ratitude’ had a more electro and hip hop sound with the remaining feel of a Weezer record. In December of 2009, Rivers Cuomo broke five ribbed while travelling to a gig in New York. This forced the band to move their tour for the beginning of 2010.

Weezer are still going strong with their cult following that crave new and exciting music which they seem to deliver each time.

Source: Dean Woodhouse

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Prince Of Darkness

Roy Orbison, 'THE BIG O' was considered one of the most distinctive voices in music history, was born in Texas in 1936. He was one of the original Sun Recording Artists and went on to have a life filled with tragedy and triumph, in equal measure. His musical counterparts included Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly and like those artist, Orbison’s inspiration and background lay in country and gospel music

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Whilst still at university, Orbison met Pat Boone, a musician who encouraged him to form a band. It was through this band and their early performances that Orbison met a young Johnny Cash, who helped him get his material to the owner of Sun Records. The result was Orbison’s 1956 single 'Ooby Dooby'. Following his success, Orbison went on to compose 'Only The Lonely',a tune he recorded himself after it was rejected by the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley. It was the success of the record that prompted a string of hits, including 'Pretty Woman' and 'Cryin’'.

In 1966, Orbison was left stunned by the death of his wife Claudette in a motorcycle accident and shortly after his house burned down in a fire killing two of his three sons. Orbison busied himself with a grueling touring schedule to deal with his personal demons and re recorded a collection of his past hits for a retrospective album. It wasn’t until 1987, after years of touring, that Orbison’s career enjoyed a revival, when he collaborated with popular artists such as Bruce Springsteen, KD Lang for a live concert which was then released under the title Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night.

Orbison’s next venture saw him teaming up with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lyne and George Harrison to become the Travelling Willburys, in which they performed masquerading as a band of brothers. The band enjoyed commercial success and led to Orbison recording his final solo album, 'Mysterious Girl', spawning the worldwide hit 'You Got It'.

Orbison tragically passed away in 1988 at the age of 52, after suffering a massive heart attack.

In January 1989 he posthumously became the first musician since Elvis Presley to have two albums in the Top Five at the same time.

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Travelling Wilburys

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Buddy Holly

The Original Rock N Roller Jerry Lee Lewis

Buddy Holly(Charles Hardin Holley) born September 7th 1936, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of Rock ’n’ Roll. His music has inspired and influenced bands and musicians including: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Holly was also ranked No. 13 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50 greatest artists of all time.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy, as he was always known to his family, learned to play piano, guitar and fiddle as a young boy. At Junior High School, he met and started the duo ‘Buddy and Bob’ with his friend Bob Montgomery performing harmonies at talent shows and in local clubs, taking their influences from bluegrass music. However, after seeing Elvis perform in his hometown, he soon made the transition to rock music. Buddy’s big break came in 1956 when he was spotted by a Nashville talent scout. Soon after he was signed to Decca Records, however, he would release only two singles with the label: “Blue Days Black Nights” and “Modern Don Juan” unfortunately, neither had much success and his contract was not renewed.

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Holly formed his own band of musicians known as The Crickets with Jerry "J.I." Allison on drums, Joe B. Mauldin on bass and Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar. Norman Petty was hired to manage the group and they were soon signed to Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca Records. However, due to the terms of Holly’s contract with Decca, their next hit “That’ll be the Day” had to credited to The Crickets. Other hits including “Peggy Sue” and “Oh Boy” followed soon after. In 1958, after touring Australia and the UK the group finally split.

Buddy Holly continued to perform as a solo artist and after a performance in Iowa on February 2nd, 1959 he chartered a plane to take him and his backing musicians to the next stop on the tour. Tragically, the plane crashed minutes after take off and all passengers on board were killed.

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Jimi Hendrix

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